4 ms·

The wikipedia references for IBD/Accutane association seem to be all case studies except for one population study. However, perusing google scholar shows sever

The wikipedia references for IBD/Accutane association seem to be all case studies except for one population study. However, perusing google scholar shows several population studies that show no correlation: http://dermatology.co.za/images/IsotretinoinIsNotAssociatedWithInflammatoryBowel.pdf http://dermatology.co.za/images/IsotretinoinIsNotAssociatedW... Why do you think it causes depression more than the Roche data suggests? The studies about depression and suicide are similarly inconclusive: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1463189/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1463189/ Is the data from the Roche lawsuits available? I'd like to know what evidence is resulting in these multimillion dollar IBD/Crohn's cases. I took two courses of Accutane after reading several research papers and population studies of side-effects. I came to the conclusion it's safe, and would be interested in seeing any data that shows otherwise.

bede 14y ago
You're right to mention the conflicting nature of much of the data available. I quite agree that there is noteworthy evidence both for and against the IBS link, but the fact that IBS lawsuits led Roche to pull the drug off the market in 2009 suggests that there must be some compelling evidence of a link. It's anecdotally accepted that isotretinoin users have a tendency to avoid reporting depression so as to continue being prescribed the drug. It's common sense – of course there will be underreporting in cases where the reporting will prevent someone being prescribed a drug they wish to take.