Outcome of Adapalene and Isotretinoin in the Treatment of Acne Vulgaris

Topical application of Isotretinoin and Adapalene has proved effective in treating acne vulgaris. Both drugs demonstrate therapeutic advantages and less irritancy over tretinoin, the most widely used treatment for acne. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy and tolerability of Adapalene cream 0.1% and Isotretinoin cream 0·05% in the treatment of acne vulgaris.

Hundred patients were enrolled and were instructed to apply Adapalene cream 0.1% (50 patients) or Isotretinoin cream 0.05% (50 patients) once daily over a 6-week treatment period. Efficacy determination included non-inflammatory and inflammatory lesions count by the investigator and global evaluation of improvement.

Cutaneous tolerance was assessed by determining erythema, scaling, burning and pruritus. Adapalene and Isotretinoin creams were highly effective in treating acne vulgaris. However Adapalene was found significantly more effective than Isotretinoin. Adapalene has faster onset of action of, which reflects on patients psychologically in term of improvements, comforts and good appearance. Significantly lower skin irritation was noted with Adapalene , indicating that Adapalene may begin a new era of treatment with low-irritant retinoids. It seems that, Adapalene treatment is a good choice for topical treatment of acne vulgaris with less side effects and high efficacy. Adapalene should be described as first line for treatment of acne vulgaris.