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13-cis-retinoic acid and bone density
1Department of Dermatology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Background:
13-Cis-retinoic acid has an influence on bone in patients on long-term treatment as well as on short-term treatment. The presence of skeletal abnormalities after the treatment was established by roentgenologic and scintigraphic examinations. We wanted to know whether a 6-month course of low-dose 13-cis-retinoic acid has a clinically important influence on bone density in men with severe acne.
Methods:
We examined 15 men with severe acne before and after treatment with 13-cis-retinoic acid by dual-photon absorptiometry of the lumbar spine.
Results:
The mean increase in bone density was 3.0% (95% confidence interval 1.3-4.5), which is normal for the period from puberty to late twenties. Bone density increased in 13 of our 15 patients.
Conclusions:
As shown by this highly sensitive modern densitometric method, 13-cis-retinoic acid has no clinically important influence on bone density in male patients with severe acne.