eMedExpert Home > Compare Drugs > Minocycline (Minocin)

• Safety of doxycycline and minocycline
  Side effects are less likely with doxycycline than minocycline7.
• Acne
  Doxycycline (50 mg daily) and minocycline (100 mg daily) are similarly effective for the treatment of of acne vulgaris6.
  In the randomized, comparative, clinical study, 50 patients with acne vulgaris received single daily dose of 50 mg doxycycline or two daily doses of 50 mg minocycline. At the completion of the 12-week treatment, cure or improvement of acne was found in 78% of the patients in the doxycycline group compared to 82% in the minocycline group.
• Pneumococcal pulmonary infections
  In comparative clinical study, in pneumococcal pulmonary infections, the rates of favorable clinical response to doxycycline and minocycline were 73% and 76% respectively3.
• Wound infection
  In comparative clinical study, in infections caused by bacteroides sp. (mainly infections of wounds), doxycycline or minocycline resulted in a 75% rate of favorable clinical responses and in a 71% rate of favorable bacteriological responses3.
• Respiratory infections
  Studies showed that the Cmax and 0-11 h AUC values in blood are higher for doxycycline, whereas the sputum Cmax was, on average, higher for minocycline because of the greater penetration of the latter. Problems were experienced with both agents in the eradication of Haemophilus influenzae. The net clinical results with the two drugs were identical4.
• Urethritis and mucopurulent cervicitis
  Minocycline, 100 mg nightly, is as effective as doxycycline, 100 mg twice daily, each given for 7 days in the treatment of nongonococcal urethritis and mucopurulent cervicitis. Vomiting and gastrointestinal upset occur more frequently with doxycycline5.

• Acne
  Clinical studies10-11 show that the effect of minocycline is not stronger than tetracycline, but the action is quicker than that of tetracycline.
  Minocycline may be effective antibiotic for patients with tetracycline-recalcitrant acne vulgaris. Minocycline has much greater antibacterial activity against both Staphylococci and Propionibacterium acnes and produces less antibiotic resistance than tetracycline8-9.
• Urethritis
  Minocycline and tetracycline are similarly effective in the treatment of non-gonococcal urethritis13.
  In comparative study12 61 of 77 (79%) men treated with tetracycline and 53 of 68 (78%) men treated with minocycline were free from urethritis one to two weeks after completing treatment. Both antibiotics were clinically effective against C trachomatis, but activity against U urealyticum was less consistent. Side effects were noted in 14 (18%) men treated with tetracycline and eight (12%) men treated with minocycline; they were predominantly gastrointestinal.
  
  

• Acne
  Azithromycin is at least as effective as minocycline in the treatment of facial comedonic and papulopustular acne.
  An open study1 compared the clinical efficacy and tolerability of azithromycin and minocycline. Azithromycin was administered as a single oral dose (500 mg/day) for 4 days in four cycles every 10 days and minocycline was administered 100 mg daily for 6 weeks. Improvement was assessed 6 weeks after initiation of treatment with a four-graded scale. A satisfactory clinical response was observed in 75.8% of the patients treated with azithromycin and in 70.5% of those treated with minocycline. Both agents were well tolerated and mild side effects were reported in 10.3% of azithromycin and 11.7% of minocycline treated patients.

• Sinusitis
  Minocycline may be somewhat more effective than amoxicillin in the treatment of acute bacterial sinusitis.
  In a comparative study2 after 11 days of antibiotic therapy, clinical cure or improvement and bacterial eradication were evident in 100% of the patients treated with minocycline and in 95% of the patients treated with amoxicillin. Roentgenographic results indicated clearing or improvement in 91% of the minocycline recipients and in 70% of those who received amoxicillin.

• Prostatitis
  Minocycline appears to be more effective than cephalexin in the treatment of acute or chronic prostatitis.
  In the multicenter study14 42 men received minocycline (200-mg initial dose followed by 100 mg twice daily) and 44 cephalexin (500 mg four times daily) for four weeks. Evaluable data were available for 20 minocycline-treated patients and for 24 cephalexin-treated patients. Improvement in symptoms was seen in 65% of the patients who received minocycline and in 46% of those given cephalexin. Bacteriologic cure without relapse or reinfection occurred in 45% of the minocycline-treated men and in 21% of the cephalexin-treated men. Serious adverse clinical experiences were not encountered in either treatment group.

• Minocycline (Minocin) Medical Facts

• 1. Gruber F, Grubisic'-Greblo H, Kastelan M, Brajac I, Lenkovic' M, Zamolo G. Azithromycin compared with minocycline in the treatment of acne comedonica and papulo-pustulosa. J Chemother. 1998 Dec;10(6):469-73. PubMed
• 2. Mattucci KF, Levin WJ, Habib MA. Acute bacterial sinusitis. Minocycline vs amoxicillin. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1986 Jan;112(1):73-6. PubMed
• 3. Klastersky J, Hensgens C, Daneau D. Comparative clinical study of doxycycline and minocycline. Int J Clin Pharmacol Biopharm. 1975 Jan;11(1):19-26. PubMed
• 4. Maesen FP, Davies BI, van den Bergh JJ. Doxycycline and minocycline in the treatment of respiratory infections: a double-blind comparative clinical, microbiological and pharmacokinetic study. J Antimicrob Chemother. 1989 Jan;23(1):123-9. PubMed
• 5. Romanowski B, Talbot H, Stadnyk M, Kowalchuk P, Bowie WR. Minocycline compared with doxycycline in the treatment of nongonococcal urethritis and mucopurulent cervicitis. Ann Intern Med. 1993 Jul 1;119(1):16-22. PubMed
• 6. Laux B. Treatment of acne vulgaris. A comparison of doxycycline versus minocycline. Hautarzt. 1989 Sep;40(9):577-81 PubMed
• 7. Smith K, Leyden JJ. Safety of doxycycline and minocycline: a systematic review. Clin Ther. 2005 Sep;27(9):1329-42. PubMed
• 8. Eady EA, Cove JH, Holland KT, Cunliffe WJ. Superior antibacterial action and reduced incidence of bacterial resistance in minocycline compared to tetracycline-treated acne patients. Br J Dermatol. 1990 Feb;122(2):233-44. PubMed
• 9. Eady EA, Jones CE, Gardner KJ, Taylor JP, Cove JH, Cunliffe WJ. Tetracycline-resistant propionibacteria from acne patients are cross-resistant to doxycycline, but sensitive to minocycline. Br J Dermatol. 1993 May;128(5):556-60.
• 10. Hubbell CG, Hobbs ER, Rist T, White JW Jr. Efficacy of minocycline compared with tetracycline in treatment of acne vulgaris. Arch Dermatol. 1982 Dec;118(12):989-92. PubMed
• 11. Samuelson JS. An accurate photographic method for grading acne: initial use in a double-blind clinical comparison of minocycline and tetracycline. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1985 Mar;12(3):461-7. PubMed
• 12. Oriel JD, Ridgway GL. Abstract Comparison of tetracycline and minocycline in the treatment of non-gonococcal urethritis. Br J Vener Dis. 1983 Aug;59(4):245-8 PubMed
• 13. Turnbull BC, Stringer HC, Meech RJ. Tetracycline and minocycline in the management of non-gonococcal urethritis: a comparison. N Z Med J. 1982 Jul 14;95(711):460-2. PubMed
• 14. Paulson DF, Zinner NR, Resnick MI, Childs SJ, Love T, Madsen PO. Treatment of bacterial prostatitis. Comparison of cephalexin and minocycline. Urology. 1986 Apr;27(4):379-87. PubMed

Published: March 31, 2008
Last updated: January 09, 2010