Accutane (isotretinoin) is one of Hoffman-LaRoche’s most popular and controversial pharmaceuticals. Doctors prescribe Accutane for patients with severe nodular acne that does not respond to systemic treatments with antibiotics.

Michigan Democrat Representative Bart Stupak lost his son, BJ, to suicide in May of 2000 while teenager was using Accutane. Since then, Congressman Stupak has led a crusade for further research to establish Accutane's risks of birth defects and psychiatric disorders like depression and suicide.

While safety of isotretinoin is hotly contested, there are previous Accutane users such as 21 year-old Krista Savino who view drug as a Godsend. The antithesis of Congressman Stupak, Savino vows to do whatever she can to keep Accutane on market. Savino sometimes experiences acne so severe that she deems her condition “social equivalent of suicide”. Accutane gives her clear skin and confidence to leave her home without feeling overly self-conscious.

Hoffman-LaRoche, following FDA guidelines, lists depression as a possible Accutane side-effect. Notwithstanding, link between isotretinoin and development of depression and/or suicide remains marred.

Like Senator Stupak, Dublin accountant Liam Grant, blames Roaccutane for suicide death of his 20 year-old son, also named Liam. Grant alleges that his son exhibited signs of severe depression after taking Roaccutane in months prior to his death.

According British newspaper, The Sunday Times, Grant has spent almost £500,000 on independent research to try to prove that Roaccutane causes depression. Grant hired Douglas Bremner, MD of Emory University School of Medicine to conduct investigation. Grant hopes to use this research to force Roche Pharmaceuticals to admit liability for Liam’s death.

Dr. Bremner’s results, which were published in American Journal of Psychiatry, have made strides in identifying Accutane’s influence on brain. Dr. Bremner explains that to invoke depression, isotretinoin must affect brain.

Magin and co-researchers from University of Newcastle, New South Wales, conclude that clinicians cannot be “didactic” when making acne treatment recommendations that are based on diet, hygiene and sunlight exposure. According to Magin, acne treatments should be individualized.

Meanwhile, Academy of Dermatology has published a press release touting, The Stubborn Truth About Acne: Myths and Misconceptions. Though this article discusses a recent Stanford University survey that examined acne myths held among young adults, it offers no solid advice for securing an acne antidote. Moreover, its meaning is paradoxical.

For example, article headlines Alexa Boer Kimball, M.D. who is an assistant professor of dermatology at Harvard University. Dr. Kimballs sums up survey on acne by saying “that substantial differences still exist between popular belief and scientific support, yet this does not change way patients attempt to care for their acne.”