Study: Common Antibiotic May Be Promising New Treatement for Knee Osteoarthitis

The commonly prescribed antibiotic doxycycline may be a promising new treatment for people with knee osteoarthritis, according to a study
presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual
Scientific Meeting in Orlando, FL.

The researchers found that doxycycline slowed the progression of structural damage in the arthritic joint and helped reduce the frequency of increases in joint pain that tend to occur over time.

In a 30-month trial, investigators studied the effect of doxycycline versus a placebo in 431 obese women between 45 and 64 years of age with evidence of knee osteoarthritis in only one knee. The participants received either doxycycline in 100 milligram doses twice daily or a placebo. Their knee pain was measured at the start of the study and periodically over a 30-month period.

Doxycycline treatment resulted in a 33 percent decrease in the rate of joint space narrowing, which reflects loss of joint cartilage. Additionally, participants taking doxycycline were significantly less likely to report a worsening of pain in their arthritic knee during the course of the trial.

“This should encourage further studies of such drugs in the future,” said
lead researcher Dr. Kenneth D. Brandt, professor of medicine and orthopaedic surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine. “Our findings indicate that osteoarthritis is a disease whose natural history can be modified by pharmacologic therapy and demonstrate that a relationship exists between joint space narrowing and joint pain in this disease.”

Other sources: American College of Rheumatology