Potential Accutane Lawsuits Are Being Reviewed - Contact a Florida Accutane Attorney for Information

Teenagers and adults experiencing severe acne often turn to prescription medication to treat their condition. Doctors may prescribe Accutane if the patient has taken other prescription acne medication that did not work. Although proven effective in clearing skin, patients taking Accutane may experience negative side effects; due to the severity of the side effects, many of these harmed consumers are pursuing an Accutane lawsuit.

Other Names for Accutane

Accutane is a synthetic form of Vitamin A, and may also be prescribed in the United States under the names:

• Amnesteem
• Claravis
• Sotret
• Isotretinoin (generic name)

Side Effects of Accutane

During the 1980’s, Accutane starting receiving attention for it’s side effects when it was discovered that the acne drug caused severe birth defects if taken during pregnancy. Additional side effects have been linked to:

• Aggressive behavior
• Allergic vasculitis (inflammation and damage to blood vessels of the skin)
• Alopecia (hair-thinning or loss)
• Anaphylaxis (rapid and potentially deadly allergic reaction)
• Back pain
• Birth defects
• Bone loss
• Conjunctivitis (pink eye)
• Contact lens intolerance
• Crohn's disease (problems in any part of the gastrointestinal tract)
• Decreased night vision
• Depression
• Dry mucus membranes (dry nose, lungs, bladder, anus)
• Dryness of the eye
• Elevated triglycerides in the blood (may increase risk of heart disease)
• Elevated liver enzymes (indicating possible liver damage)
• Erectile dysfunction
• Fragile and weak skin
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Hearing impairment
• Heart attack
• Hepatotoxicity (liver damage)
• Joint pain
• Lowered white blood cell count
• Miscarriages
• Muscle pain
• Nail changes
• Nosebleeds
• Neutropenia (low white blood cell count, which may make the body vulnerable to certain types of infections)
• Osteopenia/osteoporosis (loss of bone mass and strength/weak and fragile bones)
• Pain and swelling of the lips
• Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas, an organ that helps with digestion)
• Peeling skin on palms/soles
• Photosensitivity (sensitivity to light)
• Pseudotumor cerebri (swelling pressure in the brain)
• Psychosis (seeing or hearing things that are not real)
• Seizures
• Severe itching
• Stroke
• Suicidal tendencies
• Tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in the ear)
• Ulcerative colitis
• Vision problems

FDA Warnings

Due to the nature and potential severity of Accutane’s side effects, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued numerous warnings required all packaging and marketing for the drug to include black box warning labels. A black box warning label is a written warning surrounded by a black box, and can be found on the package insert for the drug or the bottle that contains the prescription. 

In addition, due to the high-risk for birth defects in babies born to mother’s taking Accutane, the FDA established iPLEDGE, a mandatory risk-management program. The goal of the program is to prevent pregnant woman from taking Accutane, and to prevent women currently taking Accutane from getting pregnant.  

Accutane Lawsuits

Many patients that experienced negative side effects after taking Accutane have filed lawsuits against Hoffman La Roche. If you have suffered from harmful side effects that you believe are related to Accutane, a Florida Accutane attorney may be able to help you receive the compensation you deserve. For more information, complete the case evaluation form or contact Burnetti, P.A. at 1-888-BURNETTI.