53 replies to this topic

[No to Accutane]

Accutane has the real potential to cause Premature Epiphyseal Closure (google it if you want to know more). When this happens, the growth plates in your bones seal up prematurely. This is a very serious risk to patients who haven't finished growing.

If you are on Accutante now and haven't finished your expected growth - GET A BONE AGE TEST NOW! My son went on Accutane 3 months before turning 15 (was on for six months). He is now 15 1/2 and his bone age is 19! He stopped growing almost immediately after starting Accutane, but we didn't know about this possibility and only found out when his pediatrician was concerned about the lack of growth over the past year (one inch). My son is now 5'3" and done growing.

A bone age test is a simple x-ray of the left wrist. There is no excuse for anyone exposing themselves to this risk when it is so easy to monitor. I hope this is helpful to someone out there and only wish we had known the risk and waited until our son was done growing before putting him on Accutane (not that I would even consider it after this).

[Hamburglar]

Interesting. Do you have any more info on this and how Accutane causes it (ie. studies and research articles)? This is not something particularly well documented, and I would be interested in learning more.

[No to Accutane]

There are hundreds of technical references when you google "Premature Epiphyseal Closure", in additon to personal references such as mine.

Simple fact is my son's bone age advanced years in a matter of months on Accutane. The damage is irreversible and he lost two years of growth as a result (he grew three inches the year before starting Accutane). As my son was tracking on the short side (15th percentile), this was not a risk we would have ever considered.

Accutane should not be taken by anyone who is still growing.

[Wynne]

Interesting. Do you have any more info on this and how Accutane causes it (ie. studies and research articles)? This is not something particularly well documented, and I would be interested in learning more.

It's quite well documented in the literature for accutane itself.

http://www.rocheusa.com/products/accutane/pi.pdf

[No to Accutane]

No doubt it is documented. What I don't understand is why the don't test for it before and during the treatment. The cost of an xray is minimal, but what can you do once your growth plates have closed? We thought the blood tests and monthly visits with the derm were to monitor such side effects.

Please be cautious. Don't assume you won't be affected - have your bone age checked before and very early in the treatment. From what I've read, the premature closure happens very quickly to some people (within a couple of months).

[donnatkb]

Thanks for your post. Anyone who is against that horrible drug is my friend! Accutane tried to kill me!

[No to Accutane]

Thank you. I'm hoping to help get the word out. This is an easy side effect to monitor and quantify and every patient or parent needs to know and insist on the bone age testing. Part of the reason this drug hasn't gone away after all these years is most of the side effects are difficult to quantify or long term. Not the case with bone age, yet Accutane is subscribed without bone age testing.

Don't make the same mistake we did and assume that blood tests and iPledge are sufficient to mitigate the risks of this product.

[Shoot_the_pianist]

I have a chapter from a Dermatology Clinicians Guide which comments on this issue:

"Evaluation of clinical reports of children treated with retinoids suggest that the occurrence of bone abnormalities, particualrly premature closure of the epiphyses, is associated with treatment for more than 5 years, high retinoid doses and vitamin A supplementation"

Retinoids: A Clinician's Guide
By Nicholas J. Lowe, Ronald Marks

It seems if a dermatologist is willing to recommend such treatment with the appropriate supervision and monitoring, the risks can be well controlled and benefits experienced.

This book is available on Google books to view, page 154: Retinoids: A Clinician's Guide

[momgoingcrazy]

No to accutane- Did you have a bone age test for your son before he started accutane? How do you know he didn't start the drug with a bone age of 19 yrs?

[No to Accutane]

In reply to Shoot the Pianist - We need to be careful. Reading your reply, I get the idea that we should have had nothing to worry about. Our son was only on for six months, but somehow his bone age advanced years in that time. Obviously, that wasn't our experience and the prevailing opinion that this can't occur under routine circumstances gives people a false sense of security.

This is a real problem and it must become standard practice for dermitologists and pediatricians to monitor bone age throughout the treatment.

[No to Accutane]

No to accutane- Did you have a bone age test for your son before he started accutane? How do you know he didn't start the drug with a bone age of 19 yrs?

Unfortunately, no. We didn't understand this risk. What I can tell you is that my son tracked in the 15th percentile steadily until the Accutane treatment (he grew about three inches the year prior) and should have ended up somewhere around 5'7" (I'm 5'10").

This is really my whole point. If my son had been determined to have advanced bone age prior to treatment, he never should have been prescribed Accutane until we were certain there was no growth left. Now we'll never know for certain, but I don't believe the evidence suggests he started with advanced bone age based on prior year growth.

[momgoingcrazy]

The reason I am asking is that I had a very similar experience with my son. I was never aware that premature growth plate closure was a side effect. He took the drug at 14 1/2 -15 yrs and has barely grown since. He is 5'5" and 18 yrs old now. He had an expected height of 5'7", had always tracked to 15-25% on growth charts and once he stopped the drug, fell off the charts. Everyone I contacted, pediatrician, dermatologist, orthopedist, endocrinologist said it was mostly likely genetics and puberty. His voice changed at 13 yrs and he started shaving at 14 yrs. So, I really don't know and have spent the last year going crazy. What I don't understand is why there hasn't been any clinical trials on this side effect. As you mention, how hard would it be to take the bone age of 100 teens before accutane and after accutane and see the effect?

[No to Accutane]

The reason I am asking is that I had a very similar experience with my son. I was never aware that premature growth plate closure was a side effect. He took the drug at 14 1/2 -15 yrs and has barely grown since. He is 5'5" and 18 yrs old now. He had an expected height of 5'7", had always tracked to 15-25% on growth charts and once he stopped the drug, fell off the charts. Everyone I contacted, pediatrician, dermatologist, orthopedist, endocrinologist said it was mostly likely genetics and puberty. His voice changed at 13 yrs and he started shaving at 14 yrs. So, I really don't know and have spent the last year going crazy. What I don't understand is why there hasn't been any clinical trials on this side effect. As you mention, how hard would it be to take the bone age of 100 teens before accutane and after accutane and see the effect?

Exactly! People need to understand this is happening to some people and not assume the dermatologist or pediatrician are aware they should monitor it. I assumed that the blood tests and monthly visits were intended to monitor the side effects. Big mistake.

[Max-]

I assume that your son is going to live with the height of just 5'3" forever? Sigh, another life ruin by accutane.

[No to Accutane]

It certainly is a hard thing to accept, but there are worse things that people overcome. The shame is that it is entirely avoidable and there is no excuse for this to occur. I'm just hoping that more people become aware that this is happening so they can avoid it.

[middlemaniac12]

well.....I started accutane 2 months ago at 16 and a half years old. I am also a guy who is 5' 3". I was already done growing when I took it. Your son may have already been done growing, or very close to it when taking the drug. Even though he grew 3 inches in the last year, and only grew 1 inch on accutane, that may have been his last major growth. Even though he grew 1 inch, the drug may have stunted his growth, but he would have probably only gained maybe .5 inches-1 inch more(so 5" 3.5")

[No to Accutane]

I appreciate your reply, but his bone age is 19, which is two years past the point of any notable growth. You don't go from growing 3 inches a year to completely done in one year. His growth pattern had been completely normal up until this year and he was projected to be 5'7" based on his growth history and family heights.

Please understand my goal is to encourage people to get a BONE AGE TEST before and very shortly after starting treatment. That is the only way to properly understand and mitigate this risk if you are still growing. Would you knowingly trade four inches of height for clear skin? I just hope that this message is getting through and that people will insist on monitoring bone age as part of the treatment for patients who may still be growing.

[Texas123]

It's interesting to read this, because I have personally experienced this side effect. I am twenty years old now, and took acutane for a few months when i was 15. My growth was pretty regular right up until i began acutane, and then it stopped immediately. There was no tapering off of growth between 15yrs old and 16yrs old, it simply stopped and i am still exactly the same height as I was then.
I had always had my suspicions that acutane was behind it, because before taking it the doctor warned us that it can affect the growth plates, but we were never aware of the risk that my growth may somehow stop immediately. I am about 5'8" however i am the shortest male in my family, and was projected to grow to the 5'10 to 5'11 range.
I dont know much about epipyseal closure, but another thing i noticed is that my hands are also the smallest in my family, and even smaller than my mother's. Is this also a symptom of premature epiphyseal closure? or does it just primarily affect the growth plates in relation to height?
This being said, acutane was extremely effective at getting rid of my acne (which my doctor had put me in the top 5 percent as far as severity of it) and i have been almost completely zit free since. However, knowing that acutane could have stunted my growth, it really does not become worth it at all.

[Sheefa]

Yep, another life ruined and plagued by Accutane. When will people learn!!!!!!!!

Sorry to hear about your stunted growth mate. At least you are of average height I suppose.

[letsgopatriots]

As I have been very worried about this subject I have done alot and i mean ALOT of research. When Roche labs did their testing in 1985, they found two boys who observed premature closure of the epiphyses. These boys received very high doses for a long period of time. They were being treated for hyperkeratinization, a totally different condition then acne which causes the cells lining the inside of a hair follicle to die and get traped inside the follicle. Which technically causes the patients to have no open pores. Due to this fact the government issued the mandatory warning on every label, even though it doesn't even apply to acne at all. There has been no official clinical base study since then that proved closure of the epiphyses, or even that it is actually possible. Just listen to your doctor and you will be fine. For the people that claim "Accutune stunts your growth, and it will ruin you life, dont take it", they usually had some fluke placebo effect from the drug and they feel the need to spread the word. This type of thinking has caused people with severe acne not to take this drug, which is even worse. SO STOP
Sources- Any medical journal