A BRIEF REVIEW ON SYSTEMIC RETINOIDS

Retinoids are the derivatives of Vitamin A and have similar action to that of Vitamin A. Sources of Vitamin A such as eggs and meat are known to contain a chemical, retin-A which is known to be useful for treating various dermatological disorders. Tretinoin, a first generation retinoid was first used orally for the treatment of acne in 1940s. Topical tretinoin was later developed as a result of potential adverse effects when given orally and it showed promising therapeutic effect for keratinizing disorders such as actinic keratosis and ichthyosis. Other systemic retinoids such as isotretinoin, acitretin and bexarotene were also studied consecutively which gained approval from US-Food and Drug Administration for a number of keratinisation disorders like acne vulgaris, psoriasis and mycosis fungoides respectively. Along with these disorders, systemic retinoid are widely used for various off label dermatological conditions but due their potentially serious adverse effects, their use has been contraindicated in a number of conditions, especially for pregnant women where it is reported to cause serious embryo-foetal abnormalities. Also, it is not recommended to take concurrently with some medicine as many studies have suggested serious toxicity. Patients who are on retinoid therapy need to be monitored carefully with proper laboratory investigations and patient compliance. Although retinoid are broadly used, concrete information on its proper use along with the mechanism of its potential adverse reaction and drug interactions is not available in the medical literatures. So, it is suggestive that further researches are necessary for proper use of retinoid.