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It seems that most published research on Antibiotics for MS has been done with Minocycline, I've only found one reference to a trial with Doxycycline.

But Doxycycline has less serious side-effects than Minocycline?

Is there any reason to suppose that Minocycline is inherently better than Doxycycline, or is it just a coincidence that Minocycline has been used more than Doxycycline?

Thanks

Bil, I think it is coincidence; after all, doctors are notoriously conservative creatures. However, my husband and doctor, though conservative in some matters, prefers doxycycline because it is more easily tolerated. If you aren't using it for its antibiotic properties but just the immunomodulatory ones, there is nothing between them apart from doxycycline's comparative gentleness.

Sarah

There are more clinical trials with mincycline because minocycline have better antyinflamatory and neuroprotective effects properities. And that is why it is in stroke, huntington desease, als, ms, parkinson desease, alzheimer desease clinical trials more ofen then doxycycline.
I suggest you to take mino.

Read all of this and decide for yourself:

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/95/26/15769

but also remember that after taking doxycycline plus roxithromycin with pulses of flagyl for a year I have not had an MS episode in over three years, whereas before I was deteriorating rapidly with aggressive secondary progressive MS.

Sarah

great topic, thanks for all that replied.

I can only add that I too have been taking Minocycline along with other abx since November '06 for my MS (left my Copaxone in the fridge), and I'm beginning to resolve some very "old" issues.

I've been diagnosed since 1990, lived a relatively normal healthy life, but had my fair share of RRMS too. Lesions on both my brain and spinal cord, nystagmus, Trigeminal Neuralgia, etc.

Whether your decision is Doxy or Mino, horrah, imo you've choosen to begin your healing process.

I wish you great success in dealing with your MS as well,
tory

Hi Tory,

it's unfortunately not for me but for my wife, who was diagnosed (well got a "probable" diagnosis) just over a year ago.

I just have to persuade her now to take them. She is somewhat anti-conventional medicine, whereas I originally trained as a scientist and am a 100% died-in-the-wool interventionist who would happily fill my body full of all sorts of chemicals if I thought it would help

This site is great for finding out about the latest developments and research. Amazing how you can learn so much so quickly these days with the help of the internet - not just easily find studies in the medical journals but also share in this sort of accumulated collaborative knowledge that almost seems to exist as an AI of its own.

Anyway thanks to all who replied and thanks to all who help run and contribute to this fantastic website!

Billy

Hi Billy,

How nice of you to research all there is out "there" regarding treating for MS. She's a lucky lady.

It sounds like your wife and I have something in common. I too was not easily convinced regarding the disease modifying drugs....just my nature.

I was taking Evening of Primrose years before it became fashionable. My neuro then just said uhum..and noted it in my chart. It was at this same time when "stress" wasn't thought to be a cause for MS,,,nor did they know what the electric strikes were in my head..MS doesn't cause pain! and sent me for a CatScan for a brain tumor...hmm, years later there's a word for it trigeminal neuralgia, and it is very much related to MS!

It was all these reasons,,that I began my quest of connecting the dots, and yes, they do connect!

I only wish that more MS'ers would just give antibiotics a try, just to see if you get a Jarisch-Herxheimer Reaction...simply put this is proof positive you harbor a bacteria.

I wish her great health, for the long run
tory