Effects and side-effects of spironolactone therapy in women with acne.
OBJECTIVE
Androgen hormones play an important role in the pathogenesis of acne. Despite the demonstrated effects, spironolactone, an androgen receptor blocker, is not commonly used to treat acne. We planned an open-labelled, prospective study to evaluate the effects and side-effects of spironolactone therapy in women with acne.


METHODS
Thirty-five consecutive patients with acne were treated with spironolactone 100 mg/day, 16 days each month for 3 months. The patients were divided according to the clinical severity of the lesions as having mild, moderate and severe acne. Serum total testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels were measured before and after treatment. Lesion numbers and hormone levels before and after treatment were compared with one-sampled t-test.


RESULTS
The mean age of the patients was 21.4 +/- 3.5 years. Two patients discontinued the study due to side-effects. Five patients were lost in the follow-up. Clinically significant improvement was noted in 24 patients (85.71%). No response was seen in four patients. All of the nonresponding patients had received previous unsuccessful therapies. Mean number of lesions and mean DHEAS levels of the 24 patients with clinical improvement decreased significantly after treatment (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). There was no change in the mean total testosterone levels before and after treatment (P > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Spironolactone is a safe and effective medication for women with acne vulgaris. Although its side-effects seem to be high, they are in the majority of cases not a reason to stop treatment.
Yemisci
A
A
Department of Dermatology, Kesan State Hospital, Edirne, Turkey.
Gorgulu
A
A
Piskin
S
S
D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000328:Adult; D059002:Androgen Receptor Antagonists; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate / Q000097:blood; D004244:Dizziness / Q000139:chemically induced; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008599:Menstruation Disturbances / Q000139:chemically induced; D009325:Nausea / Q000139:chemically induced; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013148:Spironolactone / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D013997:Time Factors
D059002:Androgen Receptor Antagonists; D013148:Spironolactone; D013739:Testosterone; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate