Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Giresun University Faculty of Medicine, Giresun, 28200, Turkey.
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Giresun University Faculty of Medicine, Giresun, 28200, Turkey.
Arch Dermatol Res. 2024 Aug 12;316(8):512. doi: 10.1007/s00403-024-03264-x.
Vitamin A derivatives have inhibitory effects on cartilage tissue, such as decreasing chondrocyte proliferation and collagen synthesis, and increasing the loss of glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans. Therefore, isotretinoin (a vitamin A derivative) may play a role in the pathogenesis of cartilage-related diseases like osteoarthritis by affecting the balance of cartilage tissue. The aim of this study was to evaluate the distal femoral cartilage thickness in acne patients under the systemic isotretinoin therapy and to determine whether it constitutes a risk factor for the development of osteoarthritis. The study included 52 patients (42 female, 10 male, mean age 23.31 ± 3.89 years) who were prescribed systemic isotretinoin for acne and completed at least 3 months of treatment, along with 45 healthy controls ((35 female, 10 male, mean age 23.85 ± 4.77 years). Bilateral distal femoral cartilage thickness was measured by ultrasonography before isotretinoin treatment and after the completion of the third month of treatment. After treatment, a statistically significant increase was found in the thickness of the right medial, right lateral, left medial, left lateral, and left intercondylar cartilage (p = 0.014, 0.012, 0.019, 0.027, 0.002, respectively). There was also an increase in the right intercondylar cartilage thickness, but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.1). Systemic isotretinoin seems to make cartilage thicker. The increase in femoral cartilage thickness observed after short-term isotretinoin treatment might be an indicator of very early-stage osteoarthritis. Extended follow-up studies with larger participant pools are necessary to substantiate this result.
维生素 A 衍生物对软骨组织具有抑制作用，例如减少软骨细胞增殖和胶原合成，增加糖胺聚糖和蛋白聚糖的丢失。因此，异维 A 酸（一种维生素 A 衍生物）可能通过影响软骨组织的平衡在骨关节炎等与软骨相关的疾病的发病机制中发挥作用。本研究旨在评估接受全身异维 A 酸治疗的痤疮患者的股骨远端软骨厚度，并确定其是否构成骨关节炎发展的危险因素。该研究纳入了 52 名（42 名女性，10 名男性，平均年龄 23.31±3.89 岁）接受全身异维 A 酸治疗痤疮且至少完成 3 个月治疗的患者，以及 45 名健康对照者（35 名女性，10 名男性，平均年龄 23.85±4.77 岁）。在开始异维 A 酸治疗前和治疗第 3 个月后，通过超声检查双侧股骨远端软骨厚度。治疗后，右侧内侧、右侧外侧、左侧内侧、左侧外侧和左侧髁间软骨的厚度均有统计学显著增加（p=0.014、0.012、0.019、0.027、0.002）。右侧髁间软骨厚度也有增加，但无统计学意义（p=0.1）。全身异维 A 酸似乎使软骨变厚。短期异维 A 酸治疗后观察到的股骨软骨厚度增加可能是早期骨关节炎的指标。需要进行更大规模参与者队列的扩展随访研究来证实这一结果。
