Response rates continue to be promising for amoxicillin, tetracycline, 
and metronidazole.

Bacteria are widely suspected to be one of the inciting antigens in 
ulcerative colitis (UC). As such, antibiotics, probiotics, and fecal 
microbiota transplantation have all been established or proposed as 
treatments for UC.

In the current open-label, multicenter trial, researchers assessed the 
efficacy of a combination of amoxicillin (500 mg), tetracycline (500 
mg), and metronidazole (250 mg) 3 times daily for 2 weeks to induce 
and maintain remission in patients refractory to or dependent on 
steroids. The same researchers had previously designed this regimen to 
treat elevated levels of Fusobacterium varium observed in inflamed 
colonic mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis and serum 
antibodies to F. varium. The regimen was effective for short-term 
control of UC in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study 
(NEJM JW Gastroenterol Aug 27 2010).

Kato K et al. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2014 May