# Does ACCUTANE Cause Crohn's Disease? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 2, 2011, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-accutane-cause-crohns-disease/566096 "2011-01-02T00:53:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-accutane-cause-crohns-disease/566096/1 "2011-01-02T00:53:10Z")
While watching the NYD Three Stooges marathon on AMC, I was deluged with ads from local ambulance-chaser law firms. Many of the ads were for claims against the makers of the drug Accutance (used to treat acne). The law firms allege that using the drug causes all kinds of health problems-including Crohn’s disease (a condition affecting the intestines). Is this true? Are these law firms looking a big bucks? (billions?)-like the asbestos claims? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-accutane-cause-crohns-disease/566096/2 "2011-01-02T01:50:03Z")
> [@](#): > > **Does ACCUTANE Cause Crohn’s Disease?** If there were a factual answer to the question, a number of law firms would not have to work so hard to prove their respective cases. 😃 Objective warning information is available from the [National Institutes of Health](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000532). A quick read doesn’t indicate the issue is cut and dry. OTOH, [this web site](http://www.drugwatch.com/accutane/side-effects.php) (sponsored by a law firm) begs to differ. Wikipedia has it’s own take: > [@](#): > > Several scientific studies have posited that isotretinoin is a possible cause of [Crohn’s disease](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crohn%27s_disease) and [ulcerative colitis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulcerative_colitis) in some individuals.[[68]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotretinoin#cite_note-67)[[69]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotretinoin#cite_note-68)[[70]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotretinoin#cite_note-69) Three cases in the United States have gone to trial thus far, with all three resulting in multi-million dollar judgments against the makers of isotretinoin; there are an additional 425 cases pending.[[71]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotretinoin#cite_note-70)[[72]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotretinoin#cite_note-71) [Isotretinoin - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotretinoin#Crohn.27s_disease_and_ulcerative_colitis) ---
**Author:** ![Mornac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mornac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mornac)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-accutane-cause-crohns-disease/566096/3 "2011-01-02T03:08:32Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > While watching the NYD Three Stooges marathon on AMC, I was deluged with ads from local ambulance-chaser law firms. Many of the ads were for claims against the makers of the drug Accutance –Just so long they weren’t going after the makers of Brighto. (Makes old bodies new - We’ll sell a million bottles, Woowoowooowooowooowooo!) ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-accutane-cause-crohns-disease/566096/4 "2011-01-02T04:11:30Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > While watching the NYD Three Stooges marathon on AMC, I was deluged with ads from local ambulance-chaser law firms. Many of the ads were for claims against the makers of the drug Accutance (used to treat acne). The law firms allege that using the drug causes all kinds of health problems-including Crohn’s disease (a condition affecting the intestines). Is this true? Are these law firms looking a big bucks? (billions?)-like the asbestos claims? This is called _fishing_. [del]Ambulance chasing scumballs[/del] Legal firms do this all the time. They’re hunting for enough people who took this drug and have Crohn’s disease in order to build a class action suit. I’ve seen this with ADHD and various drugs. It works this way: [ol] [li] Find common illness.[/li][li] Find common medication.[/li][li] Find the intersection of these two.[/li][li] Threaten to sue.[/li][li] Profit![/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-accutane-cause-crohns-disease/566096/5 "2011-01-02T04:52:04Z")
I took accutane and my digestive system has never been the same. I don’t have Crohns but something ain’t right. I went through a time period where they thought I may have colon cancer. It seems like I just have a mild to medium case of IBS now but the thought of having Crohns is scarier than colon cancer for some reason. I cant say for sure that the medication and symptoms are related but the first time I saw one of those commercials I did a double take. Wife had a bulb go off in her head too. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-accutane-cause-crohns-disease/566096/6 "2011-01-02T05:09:48Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > While watching the NYD Three Stooges marathon on AMC, I was deluged with ads from local ambulance-chaser law firms. Many of the ads were for claims against the makers of the drug Accutance Could there be a correlation between Stooges fandom and having a wretched case of acne?\* They don’t pick these ad slots at random, ya know. Lawyers at these firms must experience uncontrollable drooling\*\* whenever they hear about side effects tentatively linked to a drug. \*or inflammatory bowel disease. \*\*fortunately [there is a drug for that.](http://www.hopepharm.com/saltropine/cd_presc.html)