A to Z of MS
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A to Z of MS Doxycycline
Doxycycline is an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections including pneumonia and skin infections. It is a member of the class of antibiotics called tetracyclines.
Tetracyclines have antinflammatory properties and it has been suggested that doxycycline might have effect on modulating the immune system in multiple sclerosis. This has led to two small scale clinical trials.
The first was a laboratory based trial that looked at the effect of doxycycline on a number of neurological conditions of children - including 11 samples from children with MS.
In the second, 15 people took both interferon beta 1a and doxycycline for four months. Although a very small trial, results suggest that the combination may have reduced the number of areas of disease activity as observed by MRI scans.
Results of these small studies have not yet led to larger studies.
References
Anlar B, et al.
Doxycycline in autoimmune central nervous system disorders in children: an in vitro study.
Turkish Journal of Pediatrics 2007;49(3):274-277.
abstract
Minagar A, et al.
Combination therapy with interferon beta-1a and doxycycline in multiple sclerosis: an open-label trial.
Archives of Neurology 2008;65(2):199-204.
abstract