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