| Palindromic Rheumatoid Arthritis Research Information and Support group. | |||||||
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| ANTIBIOTIC THERAPY | ||||
| There are two completely opposite theories on
the etiology of autoimmune disease. The first and most prevalent is
'your body is mysteriously attacking itself'. The second is 'your body
is attacking an intracellular infection that is hiding in your white
blood cells; the very cells designed to protect you from infection'. The
infection in question is Cell Wall Deficient (CWD) bacteria (kind of a
cross between a virus and a bacteria) called 'mycoplasma'. The usual medication used is in the Tetracycline family and the preferred choice is Minocin (brand) or minocycline (generic). If somebody suspects Lupus, or they have Lupus, then they usually take doxycycline. |
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| It is always advisable to get tested by a rheumatologist to be sure you don't have 'high Lupus levels'. People with active Lupus are, for the most part, very sensitive to tetracyclines. They usually have to start out at 25 mgs MWF and very slowly work their way up. Some never get over 50 mgs a day. They still heal; they're just sensitive. | ||||
| If you have an allergy to sulfa or penicillin's, you can still do AP. | ||||
| If strep (Streptococcus) is suspected (the person can get testing to confirm) an AP doc would probably add Zithromax later in treatment to make sure that particular strain of mycoplasma are targetted. | ||||
| There is very little difference between the brand and the generic. The primary consideration is cost (generics are minimal) and history of GERD. The brand is pelletized and timed released so it's gentler on the stomach. You will still heal if you are on the generic. | ||||
| The standard Dr Brown protocol is 200 mgs
(1:00am & 1:00pm) Mon/Wed/Fri We call that the 'pulsing dose' because it’s not taken every day. This is designed for maximum microbe killing. |
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| The Harvard Protocol is 200 mgs daily Many rheumatologists feel comfortable with this because it's ‘Harvard’ so they will prescribe 200 mgs daily. When daily dosing RA/Lupus/other AI (auto-immune) diseases APer's get to remission, they usually drop down to the pulsing dose (less medication). There is some belief that the higher dose is more immunomodulatory. Less microbes are killed with this method so when the remaining microbes are forced out of their hiding places in the white blood cells once the lowered pulsing begins, herxing can happen all over again. |
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| Most people say that they 'turned the corner' around the 6 to 8 month mark. Some people can take up to 2-3 years, but they've clearly had some signs that it's already working. | ||||
| MINOCYCLINE HYDROCHLORIDE, (also known as minocycline) Is a broad spectrum tetracycline antibiotic, and has a broader spectrum than the other members of the group. It is a bacteriostatic antibiotic. As a result of its long half-life it generally has serum levels 2-4 times that of most other tetracyclines (150 mg giving 16 times the activity levels compared to 250 mg of tetracycline at 24–48 hours). Minocycline was originally discovered by Lederle Laboratories and marketed under the brand name Minocin. Minocin MR capsules contain the active ingredient minocycline hydrochloride, which is a type of antibiotic called a tetracycline. Minocycline is used to treat infections caused by bacteria. Minocycline works by interfering with the ability of bacteria to produce proteins that are essential to them. Without these proteins the bacteria cannot grow, multiply and increase in numbers. Minocycline therefore stops the spread of the infection and the remaining bacteria are killed by the immune system or eventually die. |
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| DOXYCYCLINE (INN) Is a member of the tetracycline antibiotics group and is commonly used to treat a variety of infections. Doxycycline is a semi-synthetic tetracycline invented and clinically developed in the early 1960s by Pfizer Inc. and marketed under the brand name Vibramycin. Vibramycin received FDA approval in 1967, becoming Pfizer's first once-a-day broad-spectrum antibiotic. Other brand names include Monodox, Microdox, Periostat, Vibra-Tabs, Oracea, Doryx, Vibrox, Adoxa, Doxyhexal, Doxylin, and Atridox. |
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