title: Effects of isotretinoin on serum vitamin E levels in patients with acne.
abstract: Anecdotal reports suggest that using retinoids with vitamin E leads to improvements of some side effects due to isotretinoin. However, vitamin E blood levels have not been reported previously in patients with acne treated with isotretinoin. We aimed to investigate the serum vitamin E levels before and after isotretinoin therapy in patients with acne. A total of 70 patients treated with isotretinoin for acne in our dermatology department were included in this study. The serum vitamin E levels were measured as baseline before isotretinoin treatment. All patients received 0.6-0.8 mg/kg/d isotretinoin. The treatment was finished within 5-7 months while ensuring that the cumulative dose was 120 mg/kg. Serum vitamin E levels were measured again in the last month of treatment. The mean serum vitamin E levels before and after treatment were compared. Forty-six patients completed the study. It was detected that the mean serum vitamin E level was 20.22 mg/dl before isotretinoin treatment. In the last month of treatment, the mean serum vitamin E level was 16.24 mg/dl. Serum vitamin E levels decreased in all patients except three. The mean serum vitamin E level after treatment was statistically decreased in comparison with the mean serum vitamin E level before treatment. Our results showed that vitamin E levels decreased during isotretinoin treatment. We considered that some of the side effects due to isotretinoin treatment might be related to this, and supplementation vitamin E may be useful during isotretinoin treatment.
authors: Department of Dermatology, Kocaeli University Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli, Turkey. aysun9442@hotmail.com
authors: Aysun Şikar
authors: AŞ
authors: Aktürk
authors: Savaş
authors: S
authors: Güzel
authors: Songül
authors: S
authors: Bulca
authors: Evren Odyakmaz
authors: EO
authors: Demirsoy
authors: Dilek
authors: D
authors: Bayramgürler
authors: Nilgün
authors: N
authors: Bilen
authors: Rebiay
authors: R
authors: Kıran
mesh_terms: D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003879:Dermatologic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015474:Isotretinoin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003879:Dermatologic Agents; D014810:Vitamin E; D015474:Isotretinoin