Small Study Investigating Combination Therapy Including Antibiotics For Multiple Sclerosis, UK

A preliminary study suggests that combining beta interferon with an antibiotic may slow the progress of Multiple Sclerosis.

The study involved 15 people with relapsing remitting MS who had been taking beta interferon for at least six months and were experiencing symptoms and developing new brain lesions.  For four months, participants took 100 milligrams daily of the antibiotic doxycycline in addition to continuing beta interferon therapy.  They underwent monthly neurological examinations, MRI to detect brain lesions and blood work to monitor safety.

After four months, the study participants had fewer lesions visible on MRI than they had at the beginning of the study.  There were also signs that disability levels may have improved. One person with MS involved in the study relapsed.  Few side effects were observed.

Dr Laura Bell, Research Communication Officer for the MS Society said: 'Antibiotics are cheap and easily available, which would make them an attractive treatment for MS if they were shown to be beneficial, however this study is very early stage in only fifteen people with MS and no firm conclusions can be drawn at this stage'

The researchers believe that doxycycline may block an enzyme which destroys nerve cells, thus protecting the brain and increasing the effectiveness of the immune system.

The course of MS varies greatly from person to person.  Also, MS is a very unpredictable condition and MS symptoms come and go, often seemingly randomly which is why it is important for rigorous clinical trials to be conducted before firm conclusions can be drawn.  No comparisons were drawn with people who did not take the treatment in this trial so it is not known if differences seen were due to other factors.

The trial was open labelled, which means both the trial investigator and the participant knew which treatment the participant was receiving.  This means that the people on the trial may have expectations of getting better and this in itself can have an effect on the outcome of the trial. It is also very difficult to measure differences in disability progression in four months.

The authors of the study stated that further controlled clinical trials are warranted to demonstrate safety and efficacy in a larger population of people with MS.