WHAT IS ACCUTANE?
Accutane is a powerful drug used in the treatment of acne. Four to five months of isotretinoin treatment usually leads to clearing of acne for one year or more after the medicine is stopped. Isotretinoin decreases the amount of oil produced by the skin's sebaceous (oil) glands. It may be as long as two months before you see improvement in your skin. There is nothing that can be done to speed up isotretinoin's action. In fact, sometimes acne gets worse during the first month or so of treatment. Side effects often times begin before acne will begin to clear.
Above: Nodular Acne cases that Accutane would be prescribed for treatment.
Dead cells inside hair follicles normally are shed and come out onto the surface of the skin. But in people with acne, the cells are shed faster, stick together, mix with sebum, and clog the follicle. Then bacteria contaminate the skin cell and sebum mixture and grow. When the body's immune system tries to destroy the bacteria, inflammation results. Accutane helps the function of the follicles return to normal, lowers production of sebum, slows the growth of a bacterium called Propionibacterium acnes and reduces inflammation and the chance for scarring. The drug is unique in its ability to affect all main underlying causes of acne formation.
Acne
begins in pilosebaceous units, which consist of sebaceous glands and a single
hair follicle. The sebaceous glands produce an oily substance called sebum.
Sometimes,
hormones produced in the adrenal glands trigger the production of excess sebum,
clogging the follicle and leading to bacterial growth. The resulting plug can
appear dark and is called a blackhead, or open comedo.
If
the plug is below the skin surface, it is called a whitehead, or closed comedo.
But,
if the pocket of sebum and bacteria becomes too large, the follicle will
rupture, spilling its contents into the surrounding tissue. These tissues are
damaged when the body's immune system attempts a repair, resulting in a papule,
pustule, cyst or abscess.