biaxin (clarithromycin) vs. vibramycin (doxycycline)

Clarithromycin versus doxycycline in the treatment of rosacea.

International Journal of Dermatology, 1997 Dec;36(12):942-6. Torresani C, Pavesi A, Manara GC, Department of Dermatology, Parma University, Italy.

Forty patients with rosacea were entered into a study comparing clarithromycin with doxycycline in the systemic treatment of mild and severe rosacea.

Results: At the end of the treatment, the overall results provided evidence for a hight clarithromycin efficacy profile in comparison with doxycycline.

Discussion: The etiology and pathogenesis of rosacea are still unknown. The systemic drugs first used in the treatment of rosacea were tetracyclines. This was followed by the introduction of metronidazole. Both therapies achieve significant improvements of dermatosis in 80% to 90% of cases, and no statistically significant differences were observed between them.

The pharmacologic mechanisms of action of both metronidazole and tetracyclines have been widely investigated. The therapeutic activity of tetracyclines seems to be related to their anti-inflammatory efficacy.

Clarithromycin, a recently synthesized macrolide, has been proven to be able to penetrate in phagocytes in vitro. The present study reveals that clarithromycin is a powerful tool in the treatment of rosacea. It yields improvements which are significantly more consistent when compared with those obtained with doxycycline. In contrast with tetracyclines and metronidazole, clarithromycin is a very safe therapy inducing only occasional and slight side effects. This significantly increases patient compliance and is of particular interest when considering the long-term therapy required. The mechanism of action of the drug in dermatosis has not yet been established. It is conceivable that clarithromycin also has anti-inflammatory capabilities.

• PubMed Extract (Full Article available from the Author.)
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