Roaccutane

What is Roaccutane?
Roaccutane (isotretinoin) is a medicine that is used to effectively treat acne. It works by inhibiting the action of sebaceous glands of the skin, which causes the skin to become less oily. Moreover, Roaccutane reduces the inflammation and size of sebaceous glands. This medicine is usually given to those people who didn’t respond to previous treatment.

Roaccutane should be used with caution, since it makes your skin more sensitive and fragile. This means that any external factor has a greater chance of damaging your skin while you’re taking Roaccutane and for some time after you stop taking it. Additionally, your skin will become more sensitive to ultraviolet light, which is why it is forbidden to sunbathe while taking this medicine.

What are the indications for using Roaccutane?
Roaccutane is primarily prescribed as a treatment for severe cystic acne vulgaris. Moreover, many dermatologists recommend using it for lesser degrees of acne when other forms of treatment proved to be ineffective.

Roaccutane can also be prescribed to patients that have the following conditions:

• Hidradenitis suppurative - a disease, characterized by epidermoid cysts, clusters of abscesses, sebaceous cysts, and pilonidal cysts that affect apocrine sweat glands.
• Acne rosacea – a chronic condition that is characterized by pimples and facial erythema
• Harlequin ichthyosis – a severe form of skin disease during which keratin layers thicken creating massive, diamond-shaped scales.
• Xeroderma pigmentosum – a genetic disorder in which the skin loses the ability to repair damage done by UV light.
• Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva – a disease that is often referred to as the Stone Man Syndrome. It is an extremely rare condition which affects the connective tissue. During this condition the body’s fibrous tissues become ossified (turn to bone) when damaged.
• Neuroblastoma – a common form of extracranial solid cancer.

What is the dosage of Roaccutane?
The dosage of Roaccutane depends on the weight of the patient and the severity of their condition.

High dosage treatment of acne ranges from 0.5 mg/kg per day to 2 mg/kg per day for the period of 8 to 10 months. This dosage yields excellent clearing of acne for 90% of the patients. However, high dosage treatment produces a great number of side effects.

What are the contraindications for using Roaccutane?
Roaccutane is contraindicated to people, who are sensitive or allergic to any of its ingredients, breast-feeding mothers, pregnant women, alcoholics, people undergoing intensive physical training, people with obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, fructose intolerance, kidney problems, metabolic problems, liver problems, asthma, and those who have depression.

What are the adverse effects of Roaccutane?
Most common side effects of Roaccutane include anemia, thrombocytopenia, thrombocytosis, increased red blood cell sedimentation rate, eye irritation, dry eyes, conjunctivitis, blepharitis, fragile skin, erythematous, rash, pruritus, localized exfoliation, dry skin, dermatitis, cheilitis, back pain, myalgia, arthralgia, increased triglycerides, and decreased HDL