Study says Accutane doesn’t cause depression

A Reuters article about Accutane was one of the top stories on Yahoo! today. The article mentioned a study that found the popular acne-fighting drug, which has been “linked to birth defects and is being monitored for ties to suicide, did not cause depression in a group of adolescents.”

Here’s an excerpt:

“The use of isotretinoin (generic version of Accutane) in the treatment of moderate-severe acne in adolescents did not increase depressive symptoms. On the contrary, our study shows that treatment of acne improves depressive symptoms,” wrote study author Dr. Christina Chia of Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center in St. Louis.

She echoed previous arguments by the drug’s manufacturer and some other researchers that acne itself could be a cause of “significant psychological stress.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is monitoring the drug to determine if it causes depression and suicide. The agency also ordered creation of a registry to ensure pregnant women, or women who may become pregnant, do not take it because of a risk of birth defects.

Accutane was one of five drugs cited by veteran FDA scientist David Graham at a congressional hearing last year as approved drugs that ought to receive closer scrutiny.

The controversy over Accutane grew out of a wrongful death lawsuit involving a young pilot who was taking the drug and crashed his small plane into a building in Tampa, Florida, in 2002.