Posted by SalArmy4me on July 10, 2001, at 2:21:10
Copyright 2001 © American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Volume 40(5) May 2001 pp 505-506 IMPROVEMENT OF ACNE IN DEPRESSED PATIENTS TREATED WITH PAROXETINE [Letters] Moussavian, Hamid M.D.:
I am currently treating three adolescents who have exhibited positive effects of treatment with paroxetine. The first patient is a 13-year-old girl with facial acne. She had reported extremely poor peer relationships; she was frequently derided by her peers because of her appearance. She has responded very well to paroxetine 10 mg daily for the past 6 months, as evidenced by an alleviation of depression, an improvement in self-esteem, and the disappearance of her facial acne. She now takes pride in her appearance and has made new friends. During our last interaction, she disclosed that she is involved in a boyfriend–girlfriend relationship.
The other case involves two African-American siblings whom I have been treating for depression and anxieties over the past several years. Within the past couple of months, the brother and sister (aged 16 and 14 years, respectively) complained about facial acne. Until this point, they had been taking sertraline, another SSRI agent, for more than a year. I switched their medication to paroxetine 10 mg daily and, in my most recent consultation with them, witnessed two acne-free complexions. The siblings and their grandmother, who is their caretaker, expressed extreme delight with the overall improvements.
I have found that paroxetine is the only effective SSRI that improves facial acne while treating depression. Studies show that certain skin diseases may lead to depression and even suicidal ideation (Gupta and Gupta, 1998).
In the cases described in this study, the depressed adolescents were compliant with treatment, especially upon learning that paroxetine reduces breakouts of facial acne. For the most part, the acne improved without the assistance of other medications. I hypothesize that the chemical properties of paroxetine may affect certain agents or receptors that can improve the condition of facial acne.
Hamid Moussavian, M.D.
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