Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) for acne, Please Read

[YankeesRtheBest]

I have read many posts on different forums about how pantothenic acid or vitamin b5 has worked to reduce the amount of oil in the skin to effectively eliminate acne. Has anyone heard or tried this, it seems to make a lot of sense. It says that it's dangerous in very high dosages, but I'm not sure what to believe in that sense. I've read that 2 1000 mg capsules daily is recommended, but I'm not 100 percent positive if this is truly safe. I am going to check with my doctor. Please if you have acne with your rosacea, I hope you'll also look into this so we can at least get rid of that problem to focus on just the rosacea. Thanks. -Chris

PS- I wonder if this would actually help rhinophyma? I don't think so though because this just has to do with breaking down the fats that lead to acne and not actually shrinking the sebacious glands which enlarge and form teh big nose.

[JR]

This is a rumour that have spread rapidly on the internet. It's essentially all based on one research paper that was done many many years ago and it lacks some scientific validity.

In other words, the short answer is "no b5 does not work". Pantothenic acid is water solubale, but unlike ascorbic acid (vitamin c), I'm not sure that very high doses (several grams/day) is harmless in the long run.

I might add that I used to have quite oily skin and just out of curiosity I wanted to test b5, so I took high doses (10g/day) for a couple of weeks and it did nothing for papules, pustules or sebum production. I really didn't expect that it would either (just wanted to confirm my opinion).

If you have oily skin, try isotretinoin (which will work). In case you have rhinophyma, there is even more reason to be on a low dose longterm accutane course.

5-lipoxygenase inhibitors (zileuton e.g.) also have the potential to directly decrease sebum production. I think boswellia (non prescription) contains 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors as well.

/JR

[YankeesRtheBest]

Hey JR, thanks for the info I really appreciate it. If you have time, maybe you can give some input on my questions below, it would mean a lot. Yea I am going to try accutane again after I finish my cutera laser treatments. I'm in a very difficult boat though because I have severe ocular rosacea and I'm only 20 yrs old. I already have very dry eyes and I'm on every tretment known, but Accutane dries out my eyes even more than they already are to an unbearable point. I have a few boxes of 10 mg capsules and hope to squeeze out or try some other method that will create a dose of about 1 or 2 mg.
Maybe you can help me with my concerns on this..
-Will about 2 mg be enough to even help early stage rhinophyma and cystic acne.
-Dr. Nase said it should help, but will take longer because of the low dose, but what I do not know is whether it will still dry out my eyes too much, but will just take longer to do so as well. Or maybe it will unclog the glands in my eyes and calm down the inflammation enough to actually help, this is what I'm hoping.
**In other words, does accutane HAVE TO DRY OUT THE EYES AND LIPS to have it effectively work in treating rhinophyma, severe acne, and abnormal sebacious glands?? Thanks so much. -Chris

????VERY LOW DOSE ACCUTANE=GRADUAL TREATMENT OF ACNE, RHINOPHYMA, ROSACEA SYMPTOMS=GRADUAL DRYING OUT OF EYES AND LIPS????

[JR]

Ooh, that's tough to answer, and besides, I'm no expert.

I would guess that even as low doses as 2mg/day would make a significant improvement, although it's below "very-low-dose". I couldn't tell you if you will experience dryness because people react different to accutane. I have been on as much as 100mg/day for a short while and I didn't even experienced as much as little dry eyes. The papules and pustules cleared up rapidly and my skin went from oily to normal, so for me accutan is all good.

The thing about accutane (according to my dermatologist) is that the accumulated dose plays an important role. Usually 120mg/kg body weight is taken during one course, and because of the risk of serious side effects during every course, you don't want to do that many courses, so prolonging it (taking a very-low-dose/day) would fit rosaceans better. To be honest, I think the 120mg/kg body weight guideline is actually for cystic acne, which infact is the accutane indication.

If you don't experience any obvious side effects (dryness e.g.), just make sure to check your blood values once in a while.

Isotretinoin is metabolized in the liver so to make sure your liver isn't taking any serious damage you should check ALAT (alanine aminotransferrase). This is an enzyme which liver cells leaks to the blood in case they are damaged. Also check creatinin for the same reason (liver function)

I also check colesterol and triglycerides. I guess these blood fats will increase more or less in every accutane patient, but a diet with a healthy level of EFAs (mostly omega-3) is a good start. Btw, isotretinoin is fat soluble, so taking it together with fats increases the absorption. I take my together with flaxseed oil and sometimes other foods containing lots of good fats (mackerel e.g.).

/JR

[yossarian]

I started taking B5 in faily high doses over 4 years ago for acne. It helped me a great deal, with my skin for the first time in years not becoming slick with oil.
Back in the summer I stopped taking it and my skin became greasy for a while, but that seems to have gone. One thing I have noticed is that my hair is very greasy now so I take a B5 tablet once or twice a week and this helps. Pantothenic acid definitely has a beneficial effect on me. So it does work, yes. But not for everyone. My brother had no luck on it.

[Drummergirl]

This is a rumour that have spread rapidly on the internet. It's essentially all based on one research paper that was done many many years ago and it lacks some scientific validity.

In other words, the short answer is "no b5 does not work".
/JR


In class today (Research class) my professor said that 93% of scientific journals will be worthless. Studies of only 15 participants. Flaws here, flaws there, flaws everywhere. This research on B5 sebum reduction (by Leung in Hong Kong in 1995) is the only one of its kind. Also, prof said for every positive paper published, there are 12 studies with negative results that don't get published. So, most likely there were studies after this one---maybe 12, with negative results that never got published. I have to say that I'm going to categorize this study into the 93% crap category.

However, in the same breath, I was at the health food store yesterday and there was the pantothenic acid (B5) and I bought it. And then I opened it. And from what I am reading (in non scientific journals), it doesn't look like you can do a whole lot of damage from megadosing for a short time period. I'm looking for a reduction in oil secretion. Don't think I'm going to go for 10g a day though--maybe 4g.

And, in the same breath, anecdotal reports have some validity for me, at least to my untrained eye :-)

[Erikson]

I just ordered it from Swanson and want to try it. How much 500 mg tablets do I have to take?

[blackie]

I just ordered it from Swanson and want to try it. How much 500 mg tablets do I have to take?

Hi, I used to take B5 supplements, and have not really noticed any supposed effect. I took about 3-4 g/day. I also experimented and tried taking close to 10 g/day, but my body just tried to get rid of it and I believe, althouht I'm not sure, it increased my overall sweating..
Anyway, If you already ordered, you can give it a shot with 5-6 tabs a day. Good luck.

[Yvette]

Hi -

And too much B5, like said, can cause dryness, brittle and dry hair, etc. Might be better off taking a mult-vitamin with more of the recommended amounts for each kind of vitamin. Also, there are a lot of formulas out there that promote clearer skin or made to help lessen acne that contain some other good vitamins/anti-oxidants - silica, chaste tree, green tea, pomogranate, burdock root, acai, celery, parsely, etc. Do some searching around and read up on some of the ingredients.

Good luck.

Yvette

[Erikson]

Hi, I used to take B5 supplements, and have not really noticed any supposed effect. I took about 3-4 g/day. I also experimented and tried taking close to 10 g/day, but my body just tried to get rid of it and I believe, althouht I'm not sure, it increased my overall sweating..
Anyway, If you already ordered, you can give it a shot with 5-6 tabs a day. Good luck.

Hi -

And too much B5, like said, can cause dryness, brittle and dry hair, etc. Might be better off taking a mult-vitamin with more of the recommended amounts for each kind of vitamin. Also, there are a lot of formulas out there that promote clearer skin or made to help lessen acne that contain some other good vitamins/anti-oxidants - silica, chaste tree, green tea, pomogranate, burdock root, acai, celery, parsely, etc. Do some searching around and read up on some of the ingredients.

Good luck.

Yvette

Thanks guys, Happy New Year!

Many people recommend taking a B complex if they take high pantothenic acid doses.