SAFA

This study was looking into the effectiveness of spironolactone for acne in women. 1 in 3 people who consult with acne are prescribed a course of long-term antibiotics. Spironolactone has been used off-license in treating acne for over 30 years and is recommended in US guidelines. Women taking part had to be over 18 and have been diagnosed with acne for more than 6 months. They started on 50mg spironolactone for 6 weeks then it was upped to 100mg if tolerated (or matched placebo).

410 women were recruited into the study - most of them were recruited via social media! The mean age was 29, 1 in 5 of the recruits had PCOS diagnosed and 83% of them were using topical treatments for their acne. 

They did quality of life questionnaires and quality of life was considered better in the women who were taking the spironolactone. 

After 12 weeks, 72.7% of women taking the spironolactone reported acne improvement compared with 67.9% who were taking the placebo.

After 24 weeks, 81.9% of women taking the spironolactone reported acne improvement compared with 63.3% who were taking the placebo.

These results have not been published yet so cannot be shared with anyone else.