EFFICACY OF MINOCYCLINE IN SINGLE-DOSE AND AT 100 MG TWICE-DAILY FOR LEPROMATOUS LEPROSY

A clinical trial of minocycline in a total of 10 patients with previou sly untreated lepromatous leprosy was conducted in order to evaluate t he efficacy of a single, initial, 200 mg dose and 100 mg twice daily o f minocycline for a total duration of up to 3 months. Patients improve d remarkably quickly. Although single-dose therapy did not result in a significant killing of Mycobacterium leprae, viable M. leprae were cl eared from the dermis regularly by 3 months of twice-daily therapy, a rate similar to that achieved by minocycline 100 mg once daily. Becaus e side effects were noted herein than perviously with 100 mg daily, we recommend minocycline, when applied, be administered at 100 mg daily to leprosy patients.