Popular Acne Drug Accutane Leads To Depression-Related Behavior In Mice,

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Popular Acne Drug Leads To Depression-Related Behavior In Mice,

Scientists Find

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=52506

A drug commonly used to treat severe acne can lead to depression-

related behavior in mice, according to research published in the

journal Neuropsychopharmacology by scientists from The University of

Texas at Austin and the University of Bath.

The scientists gave 13-cis-retinoic acid, the active ingredient in

Accutane, to mice over six weeks and monitored their behavior.

They found these animals spent significantly more time motionless in

a range of behavioral tests compared to untreated animals.

Experiments were designed to test the natural escape-related

behaviors of the mice in mildly stressful situations.

Mice treated with 13-cis-retinoic acid showed less escape-related

behavior than control mice, an indication of depression in these

animals.

Since Accutane's introduction in the early 1980s there have been

controversial reports of depression and suicidal behavior that may

have occurred in some people taking the drug. However, the biological

mechanism by which this might happen has never been established.

" Human studies concerning Accutane and depression have generated

conflicting results, " said Dr. Lane, corresponding author

and assistant professor of human ecology at The University of Texas

at Austin. " Humans have self-image and social stresses which can

contribute to the development of depression. Mice lack these

confounding variables, allowing us to examine the effect of the drug

itself on behavior. "

" Without more research it is difficult to say for sure whether the

same link applies to people taking the drug, " said Dr. ,

co-author from the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology at the

University of Bath. " This laboratory evidence provides a useful model

for future research into Accutane and understanding how this family

of compounds affects the brain. "

Accutane belongs to a group of chemicals called retinoids. This group

includes vitamin A and vitamin A-related compounds known to affect

development of the nervous system. For this reason Accutane is not

prescribed to pregnant women.

" Retinoids have long been studied for their ability to affect the

development of the nervous system, " said Lane, a nutritional

scientist whose research focuses on retinoids. " However, new evidence

suggests that retinoids can alter the function of the adult brain.

For example, there is some evidence that high dietary vitamin A may

cause psychiatric symptoms such as hysteria. "

This research is the first to demonstrate that retinoids are capable

of influencing depression-related behaviors.

It is not known how Accutane affects the brain, but Lane and

hope to explore this phenomenon further in the future.

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This research was funded by a Fiscal Year Research Grant from the

College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin.