Oral Isotretinoin

[loiloi]

Thank-you for answering my last question.
May I ask specifically: When acne and rosacea are both present and oral Isotretinoin is used, do telangiectasias tend to resolve, or do oral retinoids worsen this problem (as reported with topical retinoids) ?
Eloise.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I don't think oral isotretinoin does anything to help superficial blood vessels.  I'm not sure if it makes them worse, but it doesn't make them better.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff

[loiloi]

Ok. You may be interested in the work of Dr. Richard B Odom, professor of dermatology at the university of California. He writes that low-dose isotretinoin resolves papules and pustles in difficult to treat rosacea, with very mild to no erythema. This therapy also seems to resolve telangiectasias "which is surprising because we know the retinoids have been reported to induce angiogenesis".
I would be interested to hear from anyone with rosacea which did not respond to standard treatments (oxytetracycline/metronidozole/clindamycin) who was subsequently treated in this way. Or anyone who had both cystic acne and rosacea who took Accutane/Roaccutane.
Eloise.