The “Cyclic” Regimen of Low‐Dose Doxycycline for Adult Periodontitis: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Specially‐formulated low‐dose doxycycline (LDD) regimens have been found to reduce collagenase activity in the gingival tissues and crevicular fluid (GCF) of adult periodontitis subjects in short‐term studies. In the current, double‐blind, placebocontrolled study, adult periodontitis patients were administered for 6 months a “cyclical” regimen of either LDD or placebo capsules; and various clinical parameters of periodontal disease severity, and both collagenase activity and degradation of the serum protein, a,‐PI, in the GCF were measured at different time periods. No significant differences between the LDD‐ and placebo‐treated groups were observed for plaque index and gingival index. However, attachment levels, probing depth, and GCF collagenase activity and a,‐PI degradation were all beneficially and significantly (P < 0.05) affected by the drug regimen. We propose: 1) that LDD inhibits tissue destruction in the absence of either antimicrobial or significant anti‐inflammatory efficacy; and 2) that long‐term LDD could be a useful adjunct to instrumentation therapy in the management of the adult periodontitis patient. J Periodontol 1996;67:506‐514.