Description: Accutane (isotretinoin) has a long history of controversy over birth defects, depression and suicide, and other serious medical problems.
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Accutane (isotretinoin) inhibits the body's cell growth and reproduction, and oil-gland function.
Accutane also depletes the body's water-holding molecules , which bind, lubricate and protect tissue in the skin, scalp, eyes and joints.
A two-year U.S. congressional investigation found that many dermatologists have effectively widened the scope of Accutane use to include even mild acne despite the fact that the drug is approved for only the most severe, scar-forming and disfiguring nodular acne, which is untreatable by other means. The government found that 90 percent of women and nearly half the teens who received Accutane suffered only mild cases of acne. Therein lies the controversy surrounding this high-risk drug.