MYCOPLASMA REGISTRY REPORTS
for gulf war syndrome & chronic fatigue syndrome
© 2007 Sean Dudley & Leslee Dudley. All rights
reserved.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MycoplasmaRegistry
MycoplasmaRegistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Antibiotic Treatment For
Rheumatoid Arthritis
The proposed theory of mycoplasma as the cause of
rheumatoid arthritis is presented.
Is antibiotic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis
effective?
From Carol & Richard Eustice,
Your Guide to Arthritis.
http://arthritis.about.com/?rd=1
http://arthritis.about.com/gi/pages/mmail.htm
About Arthritis: What's Hot Now -
http://arthritis.about.com
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!
http://arthritis.about.com/cs/antibiotic/a/antibiotictreat.htm
The History Of The Search For Cause
And Cure
With no known cure for the
more than 100 types of arthritis, treating and
coping with the painful symptoms have become the
core of concern for patients and physicians.
In the 1930's, a bacterial cause for rheumatoid
arthritis was investigated but the research was
short-lived except for distinct cases of acute
infectious or septic arthritis. In 1939, the first
real lead regarding an infectious cause for
rheumatoid arthritis arose when mycoplasma, an
atypical viral-like bacteria, was isolated from the
exudate and tissue of rheumatic patients.
Investigators had already shown that mycoplasmas
cause arthritis in mice, rats, chickens, goats, and
cows. They had found mycoplasmas in the
genitourinary tracts of humans too, especially
females.
In 1949 at the International Congress on Rheumatic
Diseases the possible relationship between
mycoplasmas and joint disease was reported. After
obtaining one of the first National Institutes of
Health (NIH) research grants in 1950, Thomas
McPherson Brown, M.D. and colleagues at the
arthritis research unit reported the following year
that the rheumatoid disease mechanism was more of an
immunologic reaction of antigen and antibody (with
mycoplasma as the suspected
antigen) rather than the infectious and
transmissible type.
In 1955, the research unit reported that mycoplasmas,
unlike bacteria and viruses could live in tissue
cell cultures without destroying the tissue cells.
To further support mycoplasmas as a causative
agent/antigen, in 1964 a high incidence of
mycoplasma antibodies in the blood of rheumatoid
arthritis patients and lupus patients was found,
indicating current or previous infection. Also
recognized was a 4:1 higher incidence of mycoplasma
antibodies in females suggesting
a correlation with the higher incidences of
rheumatoid arthritis in
females.
Antibiotic Therapy
Efforts to demonstrate the effectiveness of
tetracycline therapy were initiated and first
reported over 40 years ago by Thomas McPherson
Brown, M.D. Two weeks after Brown's death in 1989,
NIH requested grant applications for the controlled
clinical trials of tetracycline therapy for
rheumatoid arthritis which he had been seeking. The
preliminary results of the clinical trials, known
now as MIRA or Minocycline in Rheumatoid Arthritis,
were promising and the NIH requested grant
applications for studies of mycoplasma and other
infectious agents as causes for rheumatoid diseases
in 1993, and a pilot study for intravenous
antibiotics for rheumatoid arthritis in 1994.
The result of the MIRA clinical trial stated,
"Patients who suffer from mild to moderate RA now
have the choice of another therapeutic agent. Not
only did the antibiotic significantly reduce
symptoms, but side effects were minimal and less
severe than observed for most other common
rheumatoid treatments".
"Why Arthritis?"
Throughout the years, the theories that focus on
mycoplasma as the responsible infectious agent and
on tetracycline as the antibiotic treatment of
choice have been hampered by lack of adequate
funding for more research and from politics. "Why
Arthritis?" by Harold W. Clark, Ph.D., one of
Brown's colleagues, assesses the rheumatoid
diseases, decades of research, the search for a
cure, and the frustration of researchers whose case
for anti-mycoplasma therapy was
overlooked for 40 years by the government and
various arthritis organizations. Clark believes
efforts were impeded because a safe, simple
treatment threatens the medical establishment since
patients would then require less medical
intervention.
Many physicians remain skeptical and still do not
suggest antibiotic treatment to their patients. The
Arthritis Foundation was seemingly unimpressed even
after antibiotic therapy was deemed as safe and
effective. The foundation's medical director
reportedly said he did not view the treatment as a
breakthrough and more study of dosages and long-term
use of minocycline is needed.
According to the American College of Rheumatology, "Minocycline
is prescribed for patients with symptoms of mild
rheumatoid arthritis. It is sometimes combined with
other medications to treat patients with persistent
symptoms of this form of arthritis."
- ACR Fact Sheet: Minocycline
http://www.rheumatology.org/public/factsheets/minocycline.asp?aud=pat
- Minocycline (Minocin)
http://arthritis.about.com/od/minocin/Minocin_Minocycline_Dosage_Side_Effects_Drug_Interactions.htm?rd=1
- Using Antibiotics To Treat Arthritis
http://arthritis.about.com/od/antibiotic/Antibiotic_Treatment_Using_Antibiotics_To_Treat_Arthritis.htm
- Does Minocycline Function As An Antibiotic If Used
To Treat Arthritis?
http://arthritis.about.com/od/arthqa/f/minocycline.htm
- Doxycycline May Slow Progression Of Osteoarthritis
http://arthritis.about.com/od/arthqa/f/minocycline.htm
- Review: The New Arthritis Breakthrough - The New
Arthritis Breakthrough focuses on antibiotic
treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and related
diseases.
http://arthritis.about.com/od/books/fr/newbreakthrough.htm?rd=1
Sources:
- Why Arthritis? Searching For The Cause And The
Cure Of Rheumatoid
Arthritis, by Harold W. Clark, Ph.D., 1997;
- Fact Sheet: Minocycline, American College of
Rheumatology, April
2004
|