Accutane acne drug dangerous for your health?

Tuesday, April 20, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) Accutane, an anti-acne drug manufactured by Roche, is in the spotlight once again for causing a New Jersey man to have to get his colon removed. Following a lawsuit filed against Roche, alleging that Accutane gave him a severe inflammatory bowel disorder, the man was awarded a $25 million verdict.

The man is not the first to have had his colon removed because of Accutane. Accutane, also known generically as isotretinoin, can cause a whole host of serious problems that are far worse than having acne. The drug label warns that women should not get pregnant while taking the drug because the baby may develop birth defects or die. Accutane may even kill its users.

A few of the other serious side effects caused by Accutane include miscarriages, psychosis and other serious mental problems, suicidal tendencies, acute pancreatitis, "unknown" cardiovascular consequences, hepatitis, night blindness and sight loss, and increased internal skull pressure, just to name a few.

There have been so many lawsuits against Roche for damage caused by Accutane that the company has ceased all marketing for the drug. Rather than make the responsible choice to pull the dangerous drug off the market, Roche instead decided to keep Accutane on the market without promoting it.

In typical fashion, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is nowhere to be found in response to Accutane's numerous reprehensible side effects. The agency has decided to ignore the growing list of patients who become seriously injured or die from taking Accutane. Some patients have actually reported that their acne got worse when they started taking Accutane, leaving them with permanent scars.

People with severe cystic acne, the type for which Accutane is typically prescribed, are often told that they have no alternative to taking Accutane if they want to cure their acne. Truth be told, the active ingredient in Accutane is simply a synthetic form of vitamin A. Rather than take the synthetic form, acne sufferers would be better off researching natural, carotene forms of vitamin A that are safe and non-toxic.

Sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, goji berries, kale, collard greens, cilantro, broccoli, and many other fruits and vegetables are rich in natural vitamin A. Red palm oil, the richest natural source of beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, is an excellent food for combatting acne.

Since there are many natural approaches to fighting severe acne that are highly effective, there is no reason for anyone to put their health in jeopardy by taking Accutane.

Sources for this story include:

http://industry.bnet.com/pharma/100...

http://www.unu.edu/unupress/food/8F...