New treatments and therapeutic strategies for acne

Successful management of acne requires careful patient evaluation followed by consideration of several patient and medication factors when selecting a particular therapeutic regimen. Within the last few years, several new age nts for the treatment of acne have become available that afford greater fle xibility in the treatment of this prevalent dermatologic disorder, These in clude adapalene, tazarotene, 2 new topical tretinoin formulations, azelaic acid, a new sodium sulfacetamide formulation, and an oral contraceptive rec ently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of acn e. After a brief overview of the pathophysiology of acne and existing thera pies, this review evaluates the new antiacne agents and how they can be int egrated into a successful treatment strategy that takes into account acne s everity and predominant lesion type as well as age, skin type, lifestyle, m otivation, and the presence of coexisting conditions.