Health Update: Ageless at your eyelids' expense

A DRUG used as an anti-wrinkle treatment may be so effective in tightening the skin that it pulls the eyelids back, leaving the inner surface exposed, US doctors say. Tretinoin, a form of vitamin A, is licensed in Britain for short-term treatment of acne; in the United States it is also used widely against ageing and for skin damage caused by the sun.

The doctors say two patients who had used the drug for one to two years developed ectropion, the turning outwards of the eyelid, which can interfere with tear drainage and cause inflammation. The report, in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, says both women's lids returned to normal once they stopped using the cream.