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Help! Accutane causes telomere shortening?!

accutane telomere shortening telonerase telomere acne roch aging roaccutane shortening cell division

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#1 Ellipticality

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Posted 15 October 2011 - 02:51 AM


I have been on accutane for around 2 months and just learned that its mechanism of action could be telomere shortening!

I have obviously heard of telomere length being associated with aging and am worried that by taking accutane I have dug myself an early grave :(

Which would be devastating to say the least..

I dont think its been proven, but seems widely believed and there are studies to back it up.. I wish my derma would have let me know about this!.. wtf?

I know a lot of people have taken accutane, but its only been around for 30 years or something... So maybe everyone who takes it will end up living 20 years less than they would have?? Do you think thats possible?

Please let me know what you think.



Main discussion:
http://www.topix.com...QJ8DO1TLI41VBPN

Paragraph taken from above:
"Crandall" (see below link) "is hinting at Accutane’s mechanism of action but he doesn’t specifically say the actual mechanism because I don’t think he knows about the telomere (pronounced TEE-LA-MEER) research that I have discovered. Recently, I’ve discovered research that shows that all-trans retinoic acid (abbreviated ATRA which is the final biologically active [color=#739912 ! important][font=inherit ! important][color=#739912 ! important][font=inherit ! important]metabolite[/font][/font][/color][/color] that Accutane turns into) down-regulates the telomerase enzyme (pronounced TEE-LA-MER-AZE) and induces telomere shortening and cell death. This I believe is the mechanism of action. Accutane causes telomere shortening leading to permanently arrested cell division / proliferation."

Crandalls study (eluded to in above paragraph):
http://www.pnas.org/...4/5111.abstract


Studies eluded to in below paragraph:
http://www.ncbi.nlm....icles/PMC34517/
http://www.nature.co...l/2404127a.html


From main discussion:
"To sum all of this up, the evidence we currently have is that long term treatment with ATRA (all-trans retinoic acid), which is almost chemically identical to Accutane, causes “telomere shortening, growth arrest, and cell death.” The cells that the researchers tested in the studies I listed above were cancerous cell lines, but if ATRA causes these effects in cancerous cell lines, then it is highly likely that it will do the same thing to our body’s own dividing/proliferating cells such as the cells in the bone, skin, digestive tract, and even the hippocampus and subventricular zone in the brain. This is the “big link” hypothesis. Besides the Crandall study on the hippocampus, to my knowledge, I don’t know of any specific studies that have been conducted on how it affects the body’s own rapidly dividing cells, but given the nature of some people’s symptoms and side effects, telomere shortening is an obvious possibility."

#2 Luminosity

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Posted 15 October 2011 - 03:25 AM

I took Accutane and I wish I hadn't. For me the side effects were orthopedic/soft-tissue problems. I know what it is like to have acne that you can't get rid of, so it's a crap shoot. As my experience and the late night commercials attest, there are more side effects to this drug than the manufacturer told us. Will any one person get them? I don't know? Will something crop up later? I don't know. I don't think anyone does.

An alternative could be Chinese medicine herbs/acupuncture with a good practitioner plus healthy diet and lifestyle. That's pretty complicated though. Avoid hydrogenated oil, excess sugar, too much fried food, too much saturated fat and dairy. Try not to drink sodas or sweet drinks. Try to eat steamed vegetables as often as possible.

Drinking hot plain green tea is good for a lot of people's skin. Putting cooled green tea on your skin might help. If you have access to fresh aloe vera juice, taking that on an empty stomach may help. Avoid the peels and the area just under the peels. Topical Retin A may help, although you have probably tried that. A supplement called Green Magma might help. The lungs and skin are connected in Chinese Medicine, so don't put anything in the air but air, no "air fresheners," no incense, no smoking, no pot. If you are being exposed to too much traffic exhaust or bad air, that is bad for your skin. Pu-erh tea might help, hot and plain

I don't know anything about telomeres. Sorry that you have to deal with these issues.

Accutane is a crap shoot. It has changed some people's lives for the better, some for the worse.

#3 niner

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Posted 15 October 2011 - 03:47 AM

I'm not sure there's a problem here. If the studies that this is based on were all done in cancer cell lines, they probably all have constitutively active telomerase, and are dividing like crazy. If you inhibit telomerase in that circumstance, then sure, the cells burn out after some number of divisions. For a normal somatic cell, telomerase isn't active anyway, so there's not much to worry about. The only way you could actually shorten your telomeres in normal cells would be to induce a lot of cell division.

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#4 The Immortalist

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Posted 15 October 2011 - 05:06 AM

I took accutane for 5 months. I had no side effects.

#5 Ellipticality

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Posted 15 October 2011 - 08:00 PM

@ Luminosity

I agree, accutane does seem like a gamble. I tried improving my diet/ lifestyle to try to get rid of acne before going on accutane (basicly removed sugar), I saw some results but it was never cleared up.. You mention some things that I didn't try that sound like good ideas, and also air pollution never occurred to me as a possible cause, which could possibly be an issue. Since niner said I may have nothing to worry about I might stay on accutane but possibly lower my dosage, and maybe I will try some of the things you mentioned aswell. I am currently alternating between 40mg and 80mg a day and might down it to just 40mg a day. What dose were you taking? Anyways, Im sorry you didn't have a good experience with it.

@ niner

Thanks, this was exactly what I was hoping someone would say lol..(that its probably fine).. I just saw telomere shortening and cell death and kindof freaked out a bit. Re-reading the studies it is just talking about cancer cells, and clearly says that telomerase isnt active in normal cells anyways.. So im a little relived. Although I still think the drug is kindof sketchy, I will probably stay on it. My other option would be long term antibiotics, which can also cause problems..

Immortalist, glad to hear you didnt have problems with it. What dosage were you on? And how long has it been since taking it?

#6 Songbird85

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Posted 19 November 2011 - 10:00 PM


Hey Ellipticality.




I just thought I'd share what I'm thinking. I have stumbled upon the article you quote above yesterday. I am no biology expert (though I suddenly wished I was!), but they very IDEA of what it states as a possibility is downright very very scary. I have used Roaccutane in 2005. Wonder why I am still reading about it?




Just above this post you say "Although I still think the drug is kind sketchy, I will probably stay on it...." I wonder if I could persuade you otherwise. I am 26 years old. Some days, I feel older than my healthy, almost bouncy mother who turned 54 yesterday. I cannot sit for long periods anymore. Sometimes my back hurts while I am lying down. I used to do gymnastics, joga, and still endure playing the piano, even if the pain in my wrists are unbearable some days. I wish to be back where you are. I wish I had taken the time to READ one single forum on serious side effects of this crippling drug. You may be extremely lucky like the Immortalist and get through this seemingly easy and unscathed. Or you could end up terribly mortal like me and so many others on this planet, wishing they could turn back the time and take their lives back with the best decision of their lives. I encourage you to google "Accutane and joint pain", "Life post-accutane", or anything that scares you the most of what you've heard. I believe the millions of real life, almost suicidal testimonies should help you in saving the quality of the rest of your life on earth while you can. Please let me help you, now that I cannot help myself anymore. I know what it feels like, but read some and then ask yourself.. What is the possibility of clear skin (Roaccutane helped some, but my acne returned) compared to immobility and regular bouts of draining depression?


#7 1kgcoffee

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Posted 19 November 2011 - 10:10 PM

I took it for 3 months a long time ago. No side effects shown yet, besides the temporary dryness of skin/lip chapping that stopped after discontinuing the drug. I do occasionally get depressed, but that was also the case before accutane.

My advice is to stop taking it, and stop worrying. And avoid taking unnecessary drugs in the future. Nothing you can do about it now.

Edited by 1kgcoffee, 19 November 2011 - 10:12 PM.


#8 Lufega

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Posted 21 November 2011 - 01:30 AM

I took it when I was 19. Skin looked awsome but the side effects were horrible. Looking back on it now, with what I know now, I would make sure I get extra vitamin D, vitamin K2 (menatetrenone), fish oil and extra biotin and pantothenic acid. The last two will help with the dryness that comes with it.

#9 revenant

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Posted 02 December 2011 - 06:15 AM

Many toxins shorten telomeres. It would not surprise me if some of the pharmaceuticals out there on the market had this effect.

http://www.3dchem.co...ername=Accutane#





Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: accutane, telomere shortening, telonerase, telomere, acne, roch, aging, roaccutane, shortening, cell division

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