Drug combo treats severe acne in women: study

[Islander]

Mon Feb 11, 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The oral contraceptive Yasmin, plus a low-dose of the diuretic spironolactone, is a safe and effective treatment for women with severe facial acne, according to the findings of a small study.
Hormones can play a role in the development of acne. "Several studies have demonstrated that combined oral contraceptives can be an effective treatment for acne in women," Dr. Aleksandar Krunic from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, and colleagues point out in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
The researchers therefore examined the safety and efficacy of acne treatment using both spironolactone and Yasmin -- a combined contraceptive containing estrogen and a version of progestin called drospirenone - in 27 women with severe facial acne.
At the end of the study, 11 percent of women were entirely clear of acne lesions, 74 percent had excellent improvement, 7.4 percent had mild improvement, and 7.4 percent had no change.
There were no reports of significant weight gain or menstrual cycle irregularities. There were no side effects severe enough to necessitate discontinuation of either of the medications.
The combination of spironolactone plus estrogen and drospirenone is "attractive for control of moderate to severe, hormonally-influenced female acne," Krunic's team concludes. "However, we recommend that our results be confirmed with a larger series of patients."
SOURCE: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, January 2008.

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http://tinyurl.com/yplx39

[Islander]

1. Is 11% enough to justify the use of really powerful drugs?
2. Is this study large enough to be statistically meaningful?
3. Has anyone noticed...that exposure to sunlight has been documented to clear up acne, with NO side effects? (Er, don't bring that up, please, because no one can profit from sunshine).

[PPARGammaGirl]

They state that the drug combo is for moderate to severe acne, but like so many other drugs, they are going to make the big bucks from off-label prescribing. Every teenager who gets a zit will be beating a path to the doctor's door to ask for this. More fresh victims for big pharma.

[ozy ness]

Also the best thing for helping with acne is to eat a good diet and ensure that everything is healthy from the inside out........acne is a "symptom" of internal ill health including hormones etc.....

Truly - organic fruit and veg, clean filtered water, sunshine, using organic skin care and a great probiotic will do a lot to help clear up the skin rather than taking a drug which the body will just treat as another toxin to expel - if it doesnt come out the skin, the body will start building "garbage bins" (to quote Don Tolman) to store these toxins (the body has three ways to eliminate toxins - mouth, bowel, skin..when these are all shut down usually by pharma drugs the body has no other option than to start storing - hence the creation of lumps)......its just a sad cycle and we all know where it ends up....:(

Another thing to keep in mind is that teenage girls and women start using make-up, foundations etc and these products just clog up the skin and coat it, not allowing it to breathe..

GO ORGANIC!!!!

www.vjcorganics.com (http://www.vjcorganics.com)

[promed]

Some large cysts do not respond to medication and may require drainage and extraction. Drainage and extraction, or “acne surgery” as it is also called, should not be performed by patients. Dermatologists are trained in the proper technique and perform acne surgery under sterile conditions. Patient attempts to drain and extract comedones by squeezing or picking, can lead to infection, worsening of the acne and scarring.
_______________
Knockout Wrinkles (http://www.pro-medics.com/knockout-wrinkles/)

[Islander]

Welcome Promed, and thanks for your input!