Antibiotic Reduces Cartilage Loss of Arthritis

The participants had x-ray evidence of osteoarthritis in only one knee at the start of the trial but were at very high risk for similar development in the other knee in the near future. Half of the women received a placebo and the other half received 100 mg of doxycycline twice daily. At the end of the trial, x-rays showed that the women who received doxycycline had an average of 33% less cartilage loss in their affected knee, compared to the group who had only placebo. There was also evidence that the antibiotic had a beneficial effect on the unaffected knees. The researchers used fluoroscopy for obtaining the live x-ray images of each patient's knees.

In addition, the results showed that women taking doxycycline were less likely to report "clinically significant increases” in knee pain, said Kenneth D. Brandt, professor of medicine and orthopedic surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine (Indianapolis, IN, USA; www.medicine.iu.edu). The goal of new research would be to develop a drug that provides a therapy for osteoarthritis without the common side effects of antibiotics.




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