SCARRED FOR LIFE

Acne vulgaris is a common inflammatory dermatosis capable of producing significant psychological and physical scarring. The following work d escribes the benefit of using a questionnaire as a clinical tool to id entify acne patients who have developed psychological sequelae as a re sult of the disease process. In addition, the benefit of isotretinoin on psychological impact has also been highlighted by this work. A pros pective clinical study examines the early use of isotretinoin in acne and demonstrates the beneficial effect of early therapy in minimising acne scarring. In summary, oral isotretinoin (Roaccutane(R)/Accutane(R )) provides a very effective therapy to prevent acne patients being 's carred for life'!.