Acne

Connetics Corp. on Monday said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected the company's experimental acne gel, forcing it to cut 2005 profit and revenue targets and sending its stock down 27%. Shares of Connetics, whose experimental antifungal drug was rejected by the FDA last year, were down $5.64 to $15.13 in heavy trading, their lowest price in two years. It was the biggest percentage loser on Nasdaq.

A popular acne-fighting drug that has been linked to birth defects and is being monitored for ties to suicide did not cause depression in a group of adolescents, researchers have found. Roche's Accutane, which is also sold in generic versions as isotretinoin, was given to 59 patients, and their overall incidence of depression declined.

The acne drug Accutane and its generic versions will face tighter prescription controls to prevent harm to fetuses, federal health regulators said. The measures include a new joint database shared by all manufacturers of the drug to monitor patients, doctors and pharmacies, the Food and Drug Administration said. Pregnant women are not to use Accutane, or isotretinoin because it can cause fetuses to die or develop birth defects.

A prescription acne drug that has helped millions of Americans but has also been linked to serious birth defects soon may be much more difficult for consumers to obtain. Federal regulators are considering placing extraordinary restrictions on the drug, Accutane, which would require a woman seeking a prescription to provide evidence of a negative pregnancy test each month. She also would have to agree to use two forms of birth control to get a prescription filled.

Every patient given the acne drug Accutane must be enrolled in a national registry as part of major new steps to prevent pregnancy among women using the birth defect-causing medicine, government advisors said Friday. The registry system would mandate that women cannot get their monthly supply of Accutane without a negative pregnancy test, and that they be told to use two forms of contraception while taking the drug.

Government advisors want major new curbs in place on the use of the acne drug Accutane because it can cause severe birth defects. Under the Food and Drug Administration plan, every male and female patient -- as well as health workers who prescribe Accutane and drugstores that dispense it -- would have to enroll in a national registry. The system would require that women get a pregnancy test before getting their monthly supply of Accutane.

I loved Lisa Rosen's article "It's a Studio Cover-Up" (Oct. 23). The only difference is that I am a guy and I do hope every movie contains nudity and, therefore, have noticed this problem ages ago. I don't have to see nudity in every movie that comes out, but I strongly believe that part of the magic and novelty of movies is that you are watching something you are not supposed to be watching. I don't expect to see nudity in "The Mighty Ducks." But Rosen is right: In "Bridget Jones's Diary," an excellent film, the lack of nudity is movie acne.

Having struggled with acne for more than a decade, Aaron Goldberg had tried everything from antibiotics and prescription skin creams to Accutane, pills that often clear stubborn acne but carry many side effects. When his acne gradually returned about a year after finishing a course of Accutane, Goldberg, a 24-year-old law student, thought he had run out of options. He was wrong.

For years it was widely believed that certain foods, such as chocolate and French fries, made acne worse. Then dermatologists said food didn't cause pimples. Now, get ready for another about-face. According to a study in the December issue of the Archives of Dermatology, our Western diet may be a reason 79% to 95% of American teenagers have acne. Researchers spent seven weeks examining the skin and lifestyle of village people on Kitava Island, Papua New Guinea.

Denise DuBarry-Hay What she sells: True Sleeper mattress covers, Le Presse food chopper, Thunderstick Pro food blender and Emerson Switchboard telephone line splitter. What she makes: Thane International Inc., which she owns with husband Bill Hay, had revenue of $255.8 million for the fiscal year ended March 31 (up 34.2% from 2001); recently earnings have been down.