Recently there has been much reporting in the media regarding a link between Accutane (isotretinoin) and IBD. Several lawsuits have been brought about by people who claim their IBD was caused by Accutane, and some cases have resulted in the plaintiffs being awarded cash settlements. A few have since been overturned, and there are some cases still pending.
A dermatologist decided to dig deeper and reviewed a database of 94,487 British teens who were treated for acne with and without antibiotics. Accutane might be given as a treatment for acne after the use of antibiotics has failed to resolve the condition, which led dermatologists to wonder if the antibiotics might be a trigger for IBD.
The antibiotics that were given to treat severe acne were minocycline, tetracycline/oxytetracycline, and doxycycline. The researchers found that there was a small increased risk of developing IBD for those taking these drugs, with the risk of Crohn's disease in those taking doxycycline rating at the highest risk. While developing IBD after taking one of these antibiotics is considered a rare event, it does raise the question of whether long-term antibiotic use factors into the Accutane/IBD equation.
The authors stress that their results aren't enough to make widespread changes in treatment options for acne. More work still needs to be done, and while IBD is a serious condition, severe acne is also a disease that is associated with depression and poor quality of life.
Source:
Margolis DJ, Fanelli M, Hoffstad O, Lewis JD. "Potential Association Between the Oral Tetracycline Class of Antimicrobials Used to Treat Acne and Inflammatory Bowel Disease." 10 Aug 2010 doi:10.1038. 23 Aug 2010.
I had taken minocycline for acne for almost 2 years when my acne suddenly got 10x worse and became nodulocystic (now found out to be gram negative folliculitus, a ‘rare’ side effect of long term antibiotic use. its caused when a species of normal, healthy bacteria found in the skin gains resistance to an antibiotic and overgrows the other natural bacterial flora of the skin and causes severe reactions) i now have permenant facial scarring which cannot be treated by standard surgical procedures.
i then took accutane for almost a year. that was 6 years ago. since accutane ive had severly dry skin and chronic chapped lips, digestive problems, and some other odd effects such as tinnitus. Ive recently been diagnosed with chron’s disease.
While i am angry at the drug accutane for its effects, i believe my inflammatory bowel problems were most likely caused by the long term use of minocycline. i believe how this happens may be similar to negative-gram folliculitus in that the natural ratios of digestive flora have been disrupted.
i wish someone would do a study on this. since my bad experiances with modern throw-a-pill-at-symptoms medicine ive only been learning more and more of the dangers of some pharmaceutical drugs. in my opinion it is unfair to the public that these are legal for sale despite the lack of long-term research done on them.
If you want a cure for your chronic illnesses eat healthy and exercise. if you want to take pills to reduce symptoms then so be it, but you may soon find yourself with more symptoms than you started.
- an individual, not a list of symptoms, who is genuinely concerned for others well-being.