Experience with a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial of a disease-modifying drug for osteoarthritis: the doxycycline trial

• Published in: Rheumatic diseases clinics of North America Vol. 32; no. 1; p. 217
• Main Authors: Brandt, Kenneth D, Mazzuca, Steven A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-02-2006
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Doxycycline - therapeutic use; Female; Humans; Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors; Middle Aged; Osteoarthritis, Knee - diagnostic imaging; Osteoarthritis, Knee - drug therapy; Pain Measurement; Patient Compliance; Radiography; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 0889-857X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rdc.2005.11.002

Little effort has gone into the development of more effective analgesics for osteoarthritic pain. Efforts to improve symptomatic therapy for osteoarthritis have been deflected or diluted by a decision to pursue the development of disease-modifying OA drugs (DMOADs). These agents' main mechanism of action is directed not at the relief of joint pain but at slowing the progression of structural damage. This article describes the results of a recent randomized placebo-controlled designed to examine the DMOAD effect in humans of the tetracycline antibiotic doxycycline, and reviews the experience gained from other recent DMOAD trials in humans.