Accutane is a type of Vitamin A and is used to dramatically reduce the amounts of oil in the skin produced by a person’s oil glands as well as the number of oil glands themselves. Thus allowing the skin to rejuvenate and most importantly – renew easier and faster than it would without Accutane. One of the primary benefits of the medicament is connected with nodular acne. It is often used when traditional acne treatments have proven to be useless.  Naturally, this kind of Vitamin A can also be used to heal up any type of skin sores such as deeper scratches, lighter wounds, bruises or cuts.

Accutane’s side effects can be very harmful.  It is absolutely forbidden to be used by women who are or plan to become pregnant. Records say that there could be abnormalities of the unborn child’s face, ears, eyes, bone structure (including the skull) if taken by a woman while pregnant. Important body systems are rendered vulnerable too. This includes the nervous system and cardiovascular system. There are many cases where the child’s IQ scores are way under the average (less than 85 points) even if it doesn’t have other abnormalities because of a pregnant woman taking Accutane.  Spontaneous miscarriages and premature births have also been reported and they separately bring other possible difficulties.

According to the FDA’s medication guide, the intake of Accutane may lead to cease in the growth of long bone if the patient is still in his or her teens.  Also, the FDA reports of a variety of deep depressions, suicidal intentions, and attempts. There have been over 37 patients who had successfully committed suicide between 1982 and 2001.

Psychiatrist Dr. Doug Bremner has found that patients who had taken Accutane showed a noticeable decrease of the orbifrontal-lobe brain activity with an average of 21%.

Several scientific studies have proven that in some cases Accutane, or otherwise called isotretinoin, can lead to Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, both very severe conditions.

Several side effects have proven to stay with the patients even after ceasing the active intake of isotretinoin. These include hair loss, worse night vision, inflammatory bowel disease, bone disease, the so-called “dry-eyes” and “dry skin” diseases, and more. There is still no effective alternative to Accutane and similar medicines fighting acne. Laboratories all over the world are still researching, but in the meantime some patients who took Accutane have had to suffer side effects, some of which were severe.