Serum lipid elevation during isotretinoin therapy for acne in the west of Scotland.

We have studied 116 patients in the West of Scotland receiving isotretinoin for acne vulgaris at a dose of 1 mg/kg per day. No clinical evidence of adverse effects resulting from lipid elevations were seen in the short term. Cholesterol levels rose during the first 6 weeks of therapy, and thereafter stabilized, but triglyceride levels rose after 6 weeks therapy and continued to rise while therapy continued. Pretreatment levels of neither lipid was predictive of the level of elevation observed while on therapy. No other predictors of lipid elevation such as age or sex were identified in this study, which is the largest reported of patients receiving the standard recommended dose of isotretinoin.