Spironolactone

If you suffer from hormonal acne and topical medications and oral antibiotics have not helped, you may be a candidate for spironolactone. By blocking androgens, spironolactone has been shown to help hormonal acne. With all of the new medications available, one should not look beyond this more tried and true acne therapy.

1 comment February 20th, 2007

Nicomide

If you are looking for an oral acne medication that is not an antibiotic, then you should consider Nicomide tablets. Nicomide is a member of the vitamin B family and helps acne by fighting inflammation. The medication is typically very well tolerated and has shown to be effective in the help on acne. To learn more, visit our Nicomide information page.

Add comment October 20th, 2006

Adoxa 150

In a prior post, we introduced a new size Adoxa tablet for the treatment of acne. The new Adoxa pill comes in a 150 mg size. The advantage of this tablet is that it delivers a full 150 mg in a single dose and can be taken once a day. This once a day dosing can clearly increase compliance.

Recently, we have been getting several calls by our patients stating that the pharmacy has told them that this size does not exist. They have instead been given either two 75 mg tablets to take, or even worse, three 50 mg tablets. This clearly defeats the purpose.

We have confirmed the availability of the 150mg size with multiple representatives from Doak, the company behind Adoxa.

So, if your pharamcy tells you they can’t get the 150 mg size, as them to look again, or find another pharmacy.

1 comment April 28th, 2006

Acne treatment and the sun

We have spoken in prior posts that many of the oral antibtiotics used for acne treatment are sun sensitizing increasing the chance of sunburn.

We wanted to take a moment to mention that two of the oral medications used for acne treatment do not increase sun senstivity and may be good options for the spring and summer months. The two medications are erythromycin, an oral antibiotic, and Nicomide, a newer member to the systemic acne treatment team that is a complex of minerals and a derivative of vitamin B.

So, if you are going to be outside a bunch this summer, consider one of the medications and remeber your sunscreen.

Add comment April 12th, 2006

iPLEDGE Advice

We have commented on the problems that are arising with the iPLEDGE program and after taking a close look, we have a suggestion for those of you initiating therapy with isotretinoin.

Due to the ridiculous timing constraints that the program places on office visits and receiving prescriptions, it is very difficult to take isotretinoin without interruption. However, if on your initial prescription, you delay picking the medicine up (or just delay starting to take the medication) until 5-6 days after your office visit, you can schedule your office visit on time and still have enough pills to last you so that you can take the medication without interruption.

Give this a try and recommend it to your doctor. It will allow for smoother therapy.

Add comment April 10th, 2006

Combination Therapy

Many times acne treatment consists of multiple medications working together. A recent study looked at combining a topical retinoid (Tazorac) with a combination medication (Duac) to see if the Duac added any benefit to just using the Tazorac alone.

The study showed that adding Duac to Tazorac helped to decrease not only the inflammatory lesions (pimples) but also the non-inflammatory lesions (blackheads and whiteheads).

So, this helps to substantiate the widely used hypothesis that using medications with different mechanisms of action helps to enhance acne treatment.

Add comment March 28th, 2006

Yasmin and Aldactone

When it comes to treating hormonal acne, two of the best weapons are oral contraceptive pills and an anti-androgen medication known as spironolactone or Aldactone. Perhaps one of the most popular birth control pills for this type of acne is Yasmin.

Yasmin contains a unique progesterone component called drosperinone that is very similar in acitvity to spironolactone and acts like an ant-androgen as well.

It is important to note that Yasmin contains the equivalent of 25mg of spironolactone. So, it is important that you notify your doctor if you are on both Yasmin and Aldactone so that they can adjust the dosage of the Aldactone if necessary.

Add comment March 24th, 2006

Brand vs. Generic Minocycline

A recent article in Cutis magazine looked at the differences between branded and generic minocycline for acne treatment. The study showed that the re were several differences between the two versions of this oral antibiotic.

The most notable difference was the fact that the branded versions released more slowly. Because of this, there was a lower initial peak. This proved to be beneficial because those taking the branded version were less likely to get vestibular side effects (dizziness, vertigo).

So, it seems that branded minocycline may have an advantage over the generic “equivalent” in those who suffer from side effects including dizziness and vertigo.

Add comment March 23rd, 2006

Adoxa Pak

Recently, the oral antibiotic Adoxa has been packaged in a “Pak” form that has the entire month of pills neatly arranged with a mini-calendar. The hope is that this will help with compliance.

Early feedback from our patients indicates that they like the style of the packaging and that it has helped them remember to take the pill.

Add comment March 17th, 2006

Clindamax

Clindamax products (lotion, gel) introduce a new concept to acne treatment. These products are considered “branded” generics. That’s right. Topical clindamycin has been available in generic forms for some time and now, some companies are creating generic equivalents that can be indentified by a “brand name.”

Clindamax is simply topical clindamycin and is simlar to generic clindamycin phosphate as well as the original brands Cleocin T, Clindettes, and Evoclin. The gel and lotion forms in our experience work excellent and are definitely equivalent to the other topical clindamycin gels and lotions.

Add comment February 27th, 2006