On the basis of reports that erythromycin is effective in the treatmen
t of acne, we investigated whether roxithromycin (ROM), a new derivati
ve of erythromycin, might also be effective in treating acne. Roxithro
mycin was administered to 30 patients with acne for 8 weeks, General i
mprovement was assessed 8 weeks after the initiation of the therapy wi
th a six-graded scale as follows; 1: good improvement, 2: moderate imp
rovement, 3: slight improvement, 4: no change, 5: worsening, and 6: no
assessment, The percentage of good or moderate improvement was 73.3%,
and that of good improvement alone was 20.0%. Our results suggest tha
t ROM is effective in the treatment of acne.