Researchers at the University of Bath have released results of a study showing a link between the acne drug Roaccutane (often marketed as Accutane in the U.S.) and depression in mice.
Scientists injected mice with 13-cis-retinoic acid, the active ingredient in Roaccutane, for six weeks and monitored their behavior. In experiments designed to trigger natural escape behaviors in rodents, the treated mice spent significantly more time motionless and showed fewer escape behaviors than untreated mice, indications of depression in these animals.
Reports of depressive behavior in humans taking the drug have circulated since the 1980s, however, this is the first time a possible biological cause has been suggested.
ABSTRACT: http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v31/n9/abs/1300998a.html