Oral isotretinoin as part of the treatment of cutaneous aging

BACKGROUND. A number of drugs have been used to prevent aging changes. However, studies of oral isotretinoin, the commonly used acne drug, as an antiaging drug are lacking. OBJECTIVE. To determine improvement in cutaneous aging utilizing oral isotretinoin combined with different procedures of facial rejuvenation. METHODS. Sixty patients ranging in age from 35 to 65 years, in whom additional modalities of rejuvenation were also used, were randomly assigned to receive treatment with oral isotretinoin (10-20 mg three times a week for 2 months, group A). Their results were compared with 60 patients who had undergone the same surgical procedures but with no oral isotretinoin (group B). RESULTS. All patients treated with oral isotretinoin noted improvement in wrinkles, thickness and color of the skin, size of pores, skin elasticity, tone, and reduction in pigmented lesions and mottled hyperpigmentation. A statistically significant difference was found in the improvement of group A (Wilcoxon test < 0.01). Using minimal amounts of this drug, the side effects were practically negligible. CONCLUSION. Utilizing various procedures with oral isotretinoin allowed us to improve the effects of cutaneous aging. Our results using isotretinoin in these cases have been satisfactory. We believe that this is one of the first reports of the use of oral isotretinoin in intrinsic and photoaged skin.