Accutane and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Concerns Continue to Increase

by DrugWatch.com
(Orlando, FL)

Recent research continues to draw attention to the potential long-term dangers of Accutane, a drug used to treat acne for more than 25 years in the United States.

According to a recent study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology (AJG), Accutane may significantly increase the risk of certain serious inflammatory bowel diseases.

After looking at the medical history of thousands of patients, researchers behind the study found that previous exposure to Accutane almost quadrupled a patient's risk of developing ulcerative colitis, a chronic and painful gastrointestinal disorder that leads to the need for surgical removal of the colon in 25 to 40 percent of all cases.

Accutane has come under heavy public scrutiny in recent years as an increasing number of reports have highlighted the serious side effects associated with the medication. In addition to inflammatory bowel disease, Accutane has been linked with an increased risk of suicide and severe birth defects.


The medication has been prescribed to more than 16 million patients since its introduction to the market in the early 1980s. While Accutane was pulled from the U.S. market last summer, it continues to remain in use in other generic versions such as Amnesteem and Claravis.

While the medication is intended for the treatment of severe acne, a number of experts warn the medication has been incautiously prescribed to a large amount of patients with only mild to moderate acne that should be treated with alternative, less dangerous agents.

Please see the Accutane Lawsuit (http://www.drugwatch.com/accutane/lawsuit.php) page for more information.

Additional information about drugs and drug side effects may be found on DrugWatch.com (http://www.drugwatch.com/).

Terri's Response: With drugs, there are always side effects, some worse than the condition the drug was prescribed for.

When medicinal drugs are approved by the FDA, they have to pass a test called the LD50. That is, what is the lethal dose of the medication at which 50% of the people die. So keep in mind that ANYTHING approved by the FDA has a lethal dose.

If you have acne issues, take the Candida Test as most acne issues are due to your colon not being clean and possibly having a candida overgrowth.