Oral Vitamin A Derivatives Are Teratogenic, but Topicals, Apparently, Are Not

The retinoid group of medicines is derived from vitamin A. Topical tretinoin (Retin-A) is used to treat acne and photodamaged skin. Oral isotretinoin (Accutane) is also used to treat acne; exposure to this drug in the first trimester of pregnancy can cause defects in 25% to 35% of infants. Malformations can include abnormalities of the brain, heart, ear, and thymus, and sometimes of other central nervous system components, eyes, palate, and limbs. Researchers gathered data through the California Teratogen Information Service on outcomes after prenatal exposure to topical tretinoin.

No major or minor abnormalities of the type associated with oral isotretinoin treatment were found in the offspring of 106 women with first-trimester exposure to …