Acne medication could soon become available to patients with thyroid disease, and doctors hope to get the first prescription from the United States within two years, according to a recent report from the American College of Cardiology (ACC).
The report, titled “Acne and Acne Treatment Medications,” notes that a growing number of patients with the autoimmune disease are receiving treatment medications that are effective against the disease’s common symptoms, including acne and hypothyroidism.
The report notes that the medication is also being studied in Japan and other countries.
“Acne is a major problem for many people in the U.S., and there is great demand for these medications,” said Dr. James D. Anderson, director of the American Heart Association Clinical Trials Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, in a statement.
“Acute and chronic treatment is necessary to improve symptoms of the disease and prevent recurrence.”
According to the ACC, a growing demand for the medications is likely because of the rising number of people with the condition.
The ACC says that a total of 2.4 million people are diagnosed with the disease, while the actual number of cases is estimated to be between 3 million and 5 million.
While the ACC is only estimating the number of prescriptions that would be issued, it says the medications could be on shelves in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Japan, and other European countries in a few years.
The drug will likely be approved by the FDA in the coming years.
In a statement, the ACC said that it’s working with the FDA to assess the drug’s safety, and that it expects that the drug will be available for use in the future.
The report comes as a recent survey by the ACC indicated that the rate of autoimmune disease in the US has increased.
In 2017, about 6% of people had thyroid disease.
That number rose to 7.7% in 2018 and 7.9% in 2019.
That’s a 7.1% increase in one year, according the ACC.
More from Newsweek
