Accutane first month of taking 40 mg accutane (2nd course 11 years apart). in the 3rd week i noticed alopecia areata barbea - is there cause and effect - never had areata before? im worried.

No.: I've been prescribing Accutane for over 30 years, and i've never seen nor heard of alopecia areata as a side effect. This is coincidence. No one knows what causes aa, of course, but there is no logical reason to assume that Accutane can be blamed.

Not related: Although Isotretinoin can be associated with a usually mild diffuse hair loss there is no correlation with Isotretinoin (accutane) and alopecia areata. Alopecia areata which is considered an auto- allergic or auto-immune disorder usually has more of a localized type of hair loss.