• 02
  • September
    2010

For more than a year, Accutane has been under intense scrutiny from doctors, researchers and the public following mounting evidence that the drug causes a number of severe side effects. One of the biggest concerns, as vouched for by the thousands of lawsuits filed by former patients, is the risk of serious gastrointestinal problems brought on by taking the popular acne medication.

Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are worried that Accutane may not be alone.

A recent study, published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, points to a connection between acne-fighting, antibacterial drugs and a heightened risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease.

In the study, researchers looked at the medical history of nearly 100,000 youth and young adults in the United Kingdom who had been treated for acne between 1998 and 2006. What they found was that, of those patients treated extensively with antibiotics, the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease was twice as high.

In addition to the extreme pain and public discomfort caused by inflammatory bowel disease, many who are diagnosed eventually end up needing surgery to remove the affected part of their large intestine.

Accutane was introduced two decades ago to fight extreme cases of acne and, in many cases, patients treated with the drug had tried antibiotic treatment previously to little or no effect.

The study is important to the Accutane case because it highlights another potential factor in the development of gastrointestinal problems among acne sufferers. It certainly does not absolve Accutane of any responsibility, as researchers were quick to point out.

Rather, it adds a new dimension to the pending cases and affected patients who have yet to come forward.

Source Article