Crystalline lens clarity in patients treated with isotretinoin

• Published in: Clinical and experimental optometry Vol. 108; no. 5; pp. 566 - 570
• Main Authors: Sekeryapan Gediz, Berrak, Kılınç Hekimsoy, Hilal, Aydogan, Mert, Aydugan, Merve Temmuz, Corak Eroglu, Fatma
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 04.07.2025
• Subjects: Acne Vulgaris - drug therapy; Adolescent; Adult; Case-Control Studies; Densitometry; Dermatologic Agents - adverse effects; Dermatologic Agents - therapeutic use; Female; Humans; Isotretinoin - adverse effects; Isotretinoin - therapeutic use; Lens, Crystalline - drug effects; Lens, Crystalline - pathology; Male; Young Adult; Acne vulgaris; isotretinoin; lens densitometry; lens clarity; Scheimpflug
• ISSN: 0816-4622; 1444-0938; 1444-0938
• DOI: 10.1080/08164622.2024.2371360

Isotretinoin has been the best treatment option for moderate and severe acne vulgaris since the 1980s. Some studies have shown evidence of subclinical anterior segment involvement of the eye in patients treated with isotretinoin. This study aimed to evaluate lens clarity with the densitometry software of Scheimpflug tomography in patients treated with isotretinoin and to compare with healthy control subjects. Thirty-seven acnepatients treated with isotretinoin who met the inclusion criteria (24 males and 13 females, mean age 22.94 ± 4.21 years) and 39 healthy control subjects were included in the study. Clinical characteristics of the isotretinoin and control subjects were recorded. Lens density was evaluated with the densitometry software of the Scheimpflug tomography device (PentacamHR, Oculus, Wetzlar, Germany). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in age, gender distribution, spherical equivalent, or anterior segment parameters measured by the Pentacam system (  > 0.05 for all). Lens density values in zones 2 and 3 were significantly higher in the isotretinoin group (  = 0.042,  < 0.001) and positively correlated with cumulative isotretinoin dose (zone 2:  = 0.384,  = 0.032; zone 3:  = 0.384,  = 0.005). Zone 2 and zone 3 lens density are higher in patients treated with isotretinoin when compared to healthy controls.