While the causes of acne aren't fully understood, heredity and hormonal changes are thought to be prime culprits. Many people believe that greasy foods or fatty sweets such as chocolate may cause an outbreak, but the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases says that's a myth. Another common myth is that dirty skin causes acne, the institute says.
Other factors, while they don't cause acne, can make it worse. These includeuse of oil-based cosmetics, stress, tight clothing or hats, and abrasive facial cleansers. The institute warns against popping, squeezing or picking at acne, which are likely to worsen the skin's appearance.Sunday, July 30, 2006
Acne: Hormonal changes and heredity are prime contributors
Acne is a problem for many teens - and for some adults, as well. These clusters of pimples and blemishes usually occur on the face but also on areas such as the back and shoulders.
What’s Acne?
Acne is a term that is used to describe whiteheads, blackheads, and pimples. Most teenagers get the type of acne called acne vulgaris, which can show up on the face, neck, shoulders, back, and chest. Skin pores contain oil glands, which naturally lubricate your skin and hair. But sometimes if a pore gets clogged beneath the skin with excess oil and bacteria, the dreaded acne is caused…
Whiteheads happen when a pore gets clogged, closes, and then bulges out. If a pore gets clogged but stays open, the top may darken and you’ve got blackhead. A pimple happens when dead skin and bacteria work their way under live skin. This leads to a small infection that makes your skin look red.
What causes Acne?
Although everyone is different, the build up of oil and dead skin in a pore usually causes acne. This build up of oil and dead skin is caused because of:
Natural hormones. These are particularly active in your teens. Plugged skin. Lots of skin cells can close the oil glands or pores, creating blackheads or whiteheads.
Bacteria. Bacteria can easily infect oil glands and pores and grow very quickly.
Family background. If you have acne, your kids are more likely to have it too.
How to reduce an acne problem
You shouldn’t squeeze, pick, scratch, or rub your skin as it makes the problem worse, and it might even cause scarring.
Regularly shampoo your hair, and try to keep it off your face if possible – especially at night.
Keep a food diary to work out if you are one of the few people whose acnes gets worse if they eat certain things.
Exercise regularly to get the old blood flowing, and make sure you get a wash as soon after as possible.
Avoid unnecessarily touching your face.
If possible, try to minimize your stress levels.
Avoid getting sunburned.
Change your washcloth every day, as bacteria can grow on damp cloth.
Wash your face twice a day with a gentle soap like Dove or Coal-tar soap.
Always rinse really well with lots of water.
Only wear makeup on special occasions, and then make sure you remove it completely.
Granular facial scrub can make acne worse by aggravating the skin.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Laser found to be useful for severe facial acne
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Laser treatment can reduce inflammatory facial acne lesions with few side effects, new research shows. Moreover, it appears to work even with the darkest skin types.
The findings, which appear in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, are based on a study of 22 patients, with light to dark skin types, who underwent three treatments with the laser -- specifically a 1450-nanometer diode laser -- at 3 to 4 week intervals.
The subjects received treatment at high or low doses on the left or the right side of the face, the report indicates.
After three treatments, average acne lesion counts were reduced by about 75% and 70% with the low and high dose treatment, respectively, Dr. Ming H. Jih, from the University of Texas School of Medicine in Houston, and colleagues report. These reductions basically persisted at a 12-month follow-up examination.
Side effects were minimal -- typically transient redness and swelling -- and the procedure-related pain was well tolerated, the investigators note.
The results indicate that the laser is a safe and effective treatment for facial inflammatory acne vulgaris, the researchers conclude.
They say it is "a suitable first-line, second-line, or (add-on) treatment modality for moderate to severe acne."
Back Acne
Summer is the season of body exposure
Women frequently wear clothes that are cut low in the back. With the influence of the lingerie look this summer, clothes with deeply cut back lines are in vogue and so the back is a part that requires more attention.
The back is a part of the body that produces much sebum. Therefore it is the part of body where acne appears most easily. Acne mostly appears on the opposite side of the chest and up from there, a part that is usually exposed when sporting the lingerie look.
The condition is frequently aggravated by other physical stimulus such as air pollution, ultraviolet rays, and perspiration. Also, during times like the rainy season, when the weather is hot and humid, acne forms very easily and skin trouble occurs because sebum secretion becomes more active.
In addition, the back is a place that is difficult to reach alone, thus it is not cleansed thoroughly while taking a shower or bath and skin care is neglected. While sleeping, perspiration gathers there and it is also a place that meets a lot of friction with the bed covers, other elements that exacerbate the condition.
The neck and chest is a place where the skin structure is especially delicate and so usually suppurating acne appears there, leaving blackish red pigmentation that does not disappear easily, causing more distress. These days, they are often caused by lack of deep cleansing after using color-toning cosmetics on chest and back when going out.
Above all, the skin structure in the back area is thick, so it is good to cleanse it with warm water and then use a stronger type of soap. Use a long towel or scrubbing brush, and also try a deep cleanser once or twice a week, like the kind used for the face. Thoroughly apply body moisturizer after taking a shower or bath; a gel type is recommended. Stay away from strong scented colognes or greasy body creams, and women should be sure to take off their brassieres before going to bed.
Also, make sure to frequently wash bed sheets and pajamas to maintain a clean environment for the skin. Tight nylon textiles are not good for the body, so another way to prevent back acne is to be sure to wear cotton clothing where the clothing and back area meet.
Many treatments for skin problems
SAN DIEGO, July 27 (UPI) -- Female hormones can cause skin, hair and nails problems, but a U.S. dermatologist can treat many of these conditions.
Dr. Margaret E. Parsons of the University of California at Davis told the American Academy of Dermatology's summer scientific meeting in San Diego how hormones can affect skin, hair and nails.
Acne typically first appears during adolescence and can persist well into adulthood. It is most often linked to androgens, which are the hormones that stimulate the sebaceous, or oil glands in the skin. Oral contraceptives can be an effective part of their acne treatment plan in conjunction with other therapies, according to Parsons.
During child-bearing years, many hormonal changes can occur, especially during pregnancy, resulting in melasma, also known as the "mask of pregnancy."
This benign condition is attributed to an overproduction of melanin, a natural substance in the body that gives color to the hair, skin and eyes. Topical prescriptions for hydroquinone, retinoids, azeleic acid or hydroxy-acids can treat the condition, says Parsons.
During menopausal years, estrogen levels drop and the skin becomes drier and a skin care regimen may include a prescription retinoid, either tretinoin or tazarotene, or an over-the-counter product such as retinol or alpha-hydroxy acids.
Clear Headed, But Not Clear-Skinned
I've heard that we all improve with age. My skin doesn't abide by that rule.I'm not talking about wrinkles. I have a problem with pimples, something no nearly-30-year-old woman should have to deal with.When I was 20, an outspoken boyfriend saw an anti-beauty mark on my forehad and said, "Aren't you too old for that?" What he would think if he saw me those few times a month recently when a forehead blemish is no longer a distant memory?It's embarrassing to show up at work or a party with pimples. Blackheads, whiteheads -- they're all hideous.Acne is upsetting at any age, but more than a decade since puberty seems like time enough for my face to get bump-free. I had perfect skin in high school, and only occasional breakouts in college.I'm not alone. About 25 percent of men and 50 percent of women suffer from acne at some point, according to Acne.org.Those numbers don't make me feel any better, though. I don't want to be one of the 50 percent with acne; I'd feel more comfortable in the other group.I have tried everything I can think of to get back to the perfect skin that used to earn me compliments or, even better, went unnoticed. From creams and potions to natural remedies and oral antibiotics, nothing worked.I've tried to use nothing at all on my face. I've tried not touching my face too much, not over-cleaning it or under-moisturizing.I asked my friends -- most of whom are more preoccupied with staving off wrinkles than pimples -- but everyone told me something I've heard before.But I don't eat chocolate, I have a healthy diet and I already drink tons of water.When I talk to the professionals, they always point to the same thing: stress. I've done my best to reduce it and yet the pimples remain.Besides, acne is one of my stressors. Seeing an unsightly blemish while I get ready for work is enough to make me scream.So what's a woman to do when Noxzema just doesn't cut it anymore?Perhaps another trip to the dermatologist is in order, this time to someone other than the guy who swore a combination of Dial soap and heavy drugs was the key.Even better, maybe it's time to stop trying. Trying makes me anxious, and that's what's causing the problem in the first place.So I'll just sit back and ride out this acne-filled fun until my next birthday party. Maybe when my candles are blown out my perfect skin will return.Or, with each year I'll realize that it's not about trying to look good, but about feeling good.Too bad wisdom doesn't come with a cure for combination skin.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Mandates for acne drug Accutane rile patients, physicians
Accutane's broader use, side effects lead to costly, time-consuming U.S. restrictions
Don't dawdle on the way to your local pharmacy with that Accutane prescription.
That's the hard lesson Lynette Yarnick of Indiana, Pa., learned in May when she tried to obtain the potent anti-acne drug for her 17-year-old son Joey at a local CVS drugstore, only to be told it was out of stock.
When she returned a week later, "they said the prescription had expired and I'd have to make an appointment with Joey's dermatologist to start the process all over again," Mrs. Yarnick said.
The Yarnicks are farmers and don't have insurance, so the new doctor's appointment cost them an extra $300 -- and disrupted her son's treatment.
"It was such a shame," she added, "because Accutane has just been a miracle drug for Joey."
That hoop that Mrs. Yarnick and her son had to jump through is just one of many erected since March to strictly control isotretinoin, the generic name for Accutane, which has become the gold standard for people suffering from acne since its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 23 years ago.
Accutane was originally formulated for severe acne that is resistant to over-the-counter and prescription-only remedies: benzoyl peroxide, salicyclic acid, Retin-A and antibiotics.
Increasingly, though, dermatologists have been prescribing Accutane for milder forms of acne, which afflicts nearly 85 percent of people 18 to 24 years old.
Because Accutane has severe side effects, including a risk of birth defects, there always have been restrictions on its use. Monthly blood tests monitoring liver function, cholesterol and other conditions have been required for both men and women, as well as pregnancy tests for women of childbearing potential.
Accutane can cause miscarriages, stillborn babies and severe birth defects, including heart and central nervous system abnormalities, deformed limbs and heads, asymmetrical facial features and mental retardation. Some researchers suspect it may lead to depression or suicide, although others say the data is inconclusive.
But under the new, federally mandated "iPledge" program, patients must undergo lengthy counseling about the drug and enroll in an online registry to answer questions about its use and risks, while medical staffers must spend increased time online recording lab results and on the phone with iPledge representatives and pharmacists.
Sometimes, though, staffers have been put on hold for hours, and if they don't meet certain deadlines, the patient's case is eliminated from the iPledge system and they must start the process again.
In fact, dermatologists say iPledge has proved to be so cumbersome and complicated that a number of them -- both nationally and in Pittsburgh -- no longer prescribe the drug.
Before iPledge went into effect March 1, dermatologists wrote 170,000 prescriptions a month. In the 41/2 months since, according to iPledge, 150,000 Accutane users have been entered into the program.
"The iPledge program is killing us," said Monroeville dermatologist Lisa Pawelski. "I have stopped prescribing it for women of childbearing potential until the mess is fixed, but I do not see much happening toward a fix."
In recent years, some drug safety advocates and a Michigan congressman whose son committed suicide while taking Accutane have sought to ban or severely restrict the drug, complaining that it is overprescribed.
The FDA has declined to ban it, but in March, at the agency's urging, four manufacturers hired Covance Inc., a global biotech company, to create iPledge to control its distribution and thoroughly educate patients about possible side effects.
The result seems to have satisfied no one.
While FDA officials have said they hope iPledge will reduce pregnancies among Accutane users to zero, early indications aren't encouraging.
Since March, "we've received calls from women on Accutane who have become pregnant and who were in the iPledge system," said Dr. Christina Chambers, president of the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists, a birth defects prevention group.
Meanwhile, the American Academy of Dermatology, which strenuously lobbied to delay iPledge until flaws in its computer-based program were worked out, says that startup problems have created numerous delays in treatment.
Dr. Pawelski's medical assistant was put on hold for four hours before she could reach an iPledge official to clear up a problem with one prescription. Since then, iPledge phone waiting times have gone down to 20 minutes, "but that's still unacceptable," Dr. Pawelski said.
Also, because iPledge requires that 30 days elapse between doctors' visits, a patient who can't fill an Accutane prescription within seven days of receiving it at a doctor's office is "locked out" of iPledge's computer system, and must wait 23 more days before seeing a doctor for a new prescription.
"It's infuriating to me that, after 14 years of post-secondary training and 14 additional years of experience in medical practice, not to mention a zero percent pregnancy rate, I have to now comply with this poorly written, time-wasting, confusing, mockery of a program," Dr. Pawelski said. "It's also thoroughly unjust to the women whom I cannot now treat."
Even those who still prescribe Accutane are unhappy with iPledge. Dr. Douglas Kress, a pediatric dermatologist with Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh who also has a private practice,, said his academic position gives him access to enough staff to maneuver through iPledge's requirements, which he nonetheless calls "ridiculous."
The company running iPledge only had "maybe two operators on staff at the beginning for who knows how many calls. "It's almost as though the system is being designed to fail so the FDA will ban it," he said.
Not so, said Dr. Peter A. Gross, who chaired the FDA drug safety panel that mandated iPledge.
"Our job was to do what's best for the patient. If that meant a little bit more time with the patient to ensure appropriate and safe delivery of the drug, so be it," said Dr. Gross, who chairs the department of internal medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.
If anything, Dr. Gross said, he would have liked to see the FDA re-examine the risks versus the benefits of Accutane and a host of other popular drugs that were approved years ago, because it's possible that many of the side effects were not known then. That proposal to FDA officials "didn't go anywhere."
"The FDA is often accused of letting drugs out there that cause all sorts of serious side effects, but then when they do something, they're criticized on the other side. They're in a no-win situation," he said.
For example, the book that patients are required to read -- about an hour's worth of material -- before receiving a prescription is "huge, daunting," said Dr. Melanie Costa, who has a dermatology practice in Friendship.
"There are amazing things in that book," he said. "There's talk about possible association with diabetes and all kinds of bizarre things. They really pile on the overly frightening rhetoric."
Sharon Mohale, a certified physician's assistant in Dr. Kress' office, questions the age-inappropriateness of some of iPledge's requirements. Some Accutane patients are as young as 12, she said, "and they have to go online and answer questions like which form of birth control they should use and what they should do if a condom breaks."
Another sticking point is making boys and women who can't get pregnant subject to iPledge's rules. Jackie Funt, who manages her husband's Mt. Lebanon dermatology practice, said she doesn't understand why teenage boys are required to read an hours' worth of material about pregnancy risks before being allowed to receive the drug.
"It doesn't make any sense," she said.
On June 12, after being deluged by complaints from dermatologists, eight U.S. senators of both parties wrote Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, the acting head of the FDA, expressing concern about iPledge and urging him to "address the procedural barriers plaguing the operation."
An FDA spokeswoman declined to comment on the letter or Dr. von Eschenbach's response.
Officials at Covance did not respond to requests for an interview, instead issuing a statement acknowledging "some confusion and delays" in March and April, when large numbers of prescribers and patients registered with iPledge.
Staffing has since been increased.
Covance will be required to track how many women registered in the iPledge system become pregnant while on Accutane, and make that information public, although no data has been released yet.
It's not clear, in fact, how many women have actually gotten pregnant over the years while taking the drug before iPledge was instituted; such reporting has been voluntary.
One study by Roche, one of the drug's manufacturers, found that nearly 2,000 women became pregnant while on the drug since its approval nearly 24 years ago, and 383 gave birth. Almost half of those babies had birth defects.
Rep. Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Michigan whose teenage son committed suicide while on Accutane, remains skeptical that iPledge will lower those numbers. Mr. Stupak, who held a much-publicized hearing in 2002 on Accutane's dangers, suspects the pregnancy rate among Accutane users is much higher than that, as well as the suicide rate.
Already, he claims, there have been reports of pregnancies involving women in the iPledge system. As long as Accutane continues to be prescribed in such high volume, he said, he doubts these kinds of serious side effects can be avoided.
"For people who face severe disfigurement from acne, fine. Let those families weigh the options of whether they want to do it. But dermatologists are handing it out like it is candy," he said.
It's true that Accutane has become the most widely prescribed acne medication in the country. But Dr. Diane Thiboutot, professor of dermatology at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, argued that the FDA is limiting how dermatologists practice medicine.
And it's unfair to penalize hundreds of thousands of patients -- men as well as women -- who have benefited from Accutane because a small percentage of women will ignore the warnings and become pregnant anyway, added Dr. Kress.
"You can't legislate against people's poor judgment."
Don't dawdle on the way to your local pharmacy with that Accutane prescription.
That's the hard lesson Lynette Yarnick of Indiana, Pa., learned in May when she tried to obtain the potent anti-acne drug for her 17-year-old son Joey at a local CVS drugstore, only to be told it was out of stock.
When she returned a week later, "they said the prescription had expired and I'd have to make an appointment with Joey's dermatologist to start the process all over again," Mrs. Yarnick said.
The Yarnicks are farmers and don't have insurance, so the new doctor's appointment cost them an extra $300 -- and disrupted her son's treatment.
"It was such a shame," she added, "because Accutane has just been a miracle drug for Joey."
That hoop that Mrs. Yarnick and her son had to jump through is just one of many erected since March to strictly control isotretinoin, the generic name for Accutane, which has become the gold standard for people suffering from acne since its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 23 years ago.
Accutane was originally formulated for severe acne that is resistant to over-the-counter and prescription-only remedies: benzoyl peroxide, salicyclic acid, Retin-A and antibiotics.
Increasingly, though, dermatologists have been prescribing Accutane for milder forms of acne, which afflicts nearly 85 percent of people 18 to 24 years old.
Because Accutane has severe side effects, including a risk of birth defects, there always have been restrictions on its use. Monthly blood tests monitoring liver function, cholesterol and other conditions have been required for both men and women, as well as pregnancy tests for women of childbearing potential.
Accutane can cause miscarriages, stillborn babies and severe birth defects, including heart and central nervous system abnormalities, deformed limbs and heads, asymmetrical facial features and mental retardation. Some researchers suspect it may lead to depression or suicide, although others say the data is inconclusive.
But under the new, federally mandated "iPledge" program, patients must undergo lengthy counseling about the drug and enroll in an online registry to answer questions about its use and risks, while medical staffers must spend increased time online recording lab results and on the phone with iPledge representatives and pharmacists.
Sometimes, though, staffers have been put on hold for hours, and if they don't meet certain deadlines, the patient's case is eliminated from the iPledge system and they must start the process again.
In fact, dermatologists say iPledge has proved to be so cumbersome and complicated that a number of them -- both nationally and in Pittsburgh -- no longer prescribe the drug.
Before iPledge went into effect March 1, dermatologists wrote 170,000 prescriptions a month. In the 41/2 months since, according to iPledge, 150,000 Accutane users have been entered into the program.
"The iPledge program is killing us," said Monroeville dermatologist Lisa Pawelski. "I have stopped prescribing it for women of childbearing potential until the mess is fixed, but I do not see much happening toward a fix."
In recent years, some drug safety advocates and a Michigan congressman whose son committed suicide while taking Accutane have sought to ban or severely restrict the drug, complaining that it is overprescribed.
The FDA has declined to ban it, but in March, at the agency's urging, four manufacturers hired Covance Inc., a global biotech company, to create iPledge to control its distribution and thoroughly educate patients about possible side effects.
The result seems to have satisfied no one.
While FDA officials have said they hope iPledge will reduce pregnancies among Accutane users to zero, early indications aren't encouraging.
Since March, "we've received calls from women on Accutane who have become pregnant and who were in the iPledge system," said Dr. Christina Chambers, president of the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists, a birth defects prevention group.
Meanwhile, the American Academy of Dermatology, which strenuously lobbied to delay iPledge until flaws in its computer-based program were worked out, says that startup problems have created numerous delays in treatment.
Dr. Pawelski's medical assistant was put on hold for four hours before she could reach an iPledge official to clear up a problem with one prescription. Since then, iPledge phone waiting times have gone down to 20 minutes, "but that's still unacceptable," Dr. Pawelski said.
Also, because iPledge requires that 30 days elapse between doctors' visits, a patient who can't fill an Accutane prescription within seven days of receiving it at a doctor's office is "locked out" of iPledge's computer system, and must wait 23 more days before seeing a doctor for a new prescription.
"It's infuriating to me that, after 14 years of post-secondary training and 14 additional years of experience in medical practice, not to mention a zero percent pregnancy rate, I have to now comply with this poorly written, time-wasting, confusing, mockery of a program," Dr. Pawelski said. "It's also thoroughly unjust to the women whom I cannot now treat."
Even those who still prescribe Accutane are unhappy with iPledge. Dr. Douglas Kress, a pediatric dermatologist with Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh who also has a private practice,, said his academic position gives him access to enough staff to maneuver through iPledge's requirements, which he nonetheless calls "ridiculous."
The company running iPledge only had "maybe two operators on staff at the beginning for who knows how many calls. "It's almost as though the system is being designed to fail so the FDA will ban it," he said.
Not so, said Dr. Peter A. Gross, who chaired the FDA drug safety panel that mandated iPledge.
"Our job was to do what's best for the patient. If that meant a little bit more time with the patient to ensure appropriate and safe delivery of the drug, so be it," said Dr. Gross, who chairs the department of internal medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.
If anything, Dr. Gross said, he would have liked to see the FDA re-examine the risks versus the benefits of Accutane and a host of other popular drugs that were approved years ago, because it's possible that many of the side effects were not known then. That proposal to FDA officials "didn't go anywhere."
"The FDA is often accused of letting drugs out there that cause all sorts of serious side effects, but then when they do something, they're criticized on the other side. They're in a no-win situation," he said.
For example, the book that patients are required to read -- about an hour's worth of material -- before receiving a prescription is "huge, daunting," said Dr. Melanie Costa, who has a dermatology practice in Friendship.
"There are amazing things in that book," he said. "There's talk about possible association with diabetes and all kinds of bizarre things. They really pile on the overly frightening rhetoric."
Sharon Mohale, a certified physician's assistant in Dr. Kress' office, questions the age-inappropriateness of some of iPledge's requirements. Some Accutane patients are as young as 12, she said, "and they have to go online and answer questions like which form of birth control they should use and what they should do if a condom breaks."
Another sticking point is making boys and women who can't get pregnant subject to iPledge's rules. Jackie Funt, who manages her husband's Mt. Lebanon dermatology practice, said she doesn't understand why teenage boys are required to read an hours' worth of material about pregnancy risks before being allowed to receive the drug.
"It doesn't make any sense," she said.
On June 12, after being deluged by complaints from dermatologists, eight U.S. senators of both parties wrote Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, the acting head of the FDA, expressing concern about iPledge and urging him to "address the procedural barriers plaguing the operation."
An FDA spokeswoman declined to comment on the letter or Dr. von Eschenbach's response.
Officials at Covance did not respond to requests for an interview, instead issuing a statement acknowledging "some confusion and delays" in March and April, when large numbers of prescribers and patients registered with iPledge.
Staffing has since been increased.
Covance will be required to track how many women registered in the iPledge system become pregnant while on Accutane, and make that information public, although no data has been released yet.
It's not clear, in fact, how many women have actually gotten pregnant over the years while taking the drug before iPledge was instituted; such reporting has been voluntary.
One study by Roche, one of the drug's manufacturers, found that nearly 2,000 women became pregnant while on the drug since its approval nearly 24 years ago, and 383 gave birth. Almost half of those babies had birth defects.
Rep. Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Michigan whose teenage son committed suicide while on Accutane, remains skeptical that iPledge will lower those numbers. Mr. Stupak, who held a much-publicized hearing in 2002 on Accutane's dangers, suspects the pregnancy rate among Accutane users is much higher than that, as well as the suicide rate.
Already, he claims, there have been reports of pregnancies involving women in the iPledge system. As long as Accutane continues to be prescribed in such high volume, he said, he doubts these kinds of serious side effects can be avoided.
"For people who face severe disfigurement from acne, fine. Let those families weigh the options of whether they want to do it. But dermatologists are handing it out like it is candy," he said.
It's true that Accutane has become the most widely prescribed acne medication in the country. But Dr. Diane Thiboutot, professor of dermatology at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, argued that the FDA is limiting how dermatologists practice medicine.
And it's unfair to penalize hundreds of thousands of patients -- men as well as women -- who have benefited from Accutane because a small percentage of women will ignore the warnings and become pregnant anyway, added Dr. Kress.
"You can't legislate against people's poor judgment."
Addressing Acne
Acne is a problem for many teens -- and for some adults, as well. These clusters of pimples and blemishes usually occur on the face but also on areas such as the back and shoulders.
While the causes of acne aren't fully understood, heredity and hormonal changes are thought to be prime culprits. Many people believe that greasy foods or fatty sweets such as chocolate may cause an outbreak, but the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases says that's a myth. Another common myth is that dirty skin causes acne, the institute says.
Other factors, while they don't cause acne, can make it worse. These include use of oil-based cosmetics, stress, tight clothing or hats, and abrasive facial cleansers. The institute warns against popping, squeezing or picking at acne, which are likely to worsen the skin's appearance.
Laser Therapy Helps Reducing Facial Acne
Houston, TX (AHN) - Laser therapy helps to reduce inflammatory facial acne lesions with negligible side effects. It appears to work even on the darkest skin types, reports the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Researchers from the University of Texas School of Medicine in Houston analyzed 22 patients, with light to dark skin types, who underwent three treatments with the laser - specifically a 1450-nanometer diode laser, at 3 to 4 week intervals. The subjects received treatment at high or low doses, on the left or the right side of the face.
After three treatments, average acne lesions were reduced by about 75% and 70% with the low and high dose treatment, respectively. These reductions basically persisted at a 12-month follow-up examination. Side effects were minimal, typically transient redness swelling and the procedure-related pain, and were well tolerated.
The findings indicate that laser therapy is a safe and effective treatment for facial acne vulgaris. It is a suitable first-line, second-line, or (add-on) treatment modality for moderate to severe acne.
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