Thaindian News

Nov 12 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A new study suggests that the increased suicide risk in users of the drug Isotretinoin, which is sold under names including Accutane, Roaccutane, Clarus, Decutan and others, may actually be sue to the fact that severe acne sufferers are more prone to suicidal thoughts, and not the fault of the drug.

These medications have been prescribed to acne patients since the 1980s, but have had a few bad reviews when it was announced that there was an increased suicide rate among users of the drug.

Now scientists are saying that it is more likely that these mental health patients would have been suicidal anyway, since those people who have severe acne are more often suicidal than those who do not suffer from the skin condition.

They went on to say that even with treatment for the acne, if the social life of the sufferer did not improve, they still may become more suicidal. Depression from the constant ribbing by other school kids, or social shunning may contribute to the suicidal thoughts.

The authors of the study, Anders Sundstrom and his colleagues stated, “Severe acne is not a trivial condition. It is associated with an increased risk of attempted suicide.” They discovered that the amount of suicide attempts actually were higher before treatment, which implies that the drug may not have caused the depression, but the condition itself.