ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT01205464Updated Sep 20, 2010

Effects of Doxycycline on Persistent Symptoms Post-neuroborreliosis

An interventional study of Doxycycline and Placebo in Fatigue, Radicular Pain and Cognitive Dysfunction, sponsored by Linkoeping University. Completed at 1 site in Sweden. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 85 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2010-09-20.

Sponsored by Linkoeping University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
15
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 85 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The aim of this randomised, double-blind crossover study was to determine whether Doxycycline has an impact on the persistent symptoms post-neuroborreliosis, through alterations in the immune response and whether such an effect could influence the clinical outcome.

Read the detailed description

Persistent symptoms after treatment of neuroborreliosis (NB) are not uncommon. There is currently no evidence for improvement of symptoms after repeated or prolonged antibiotic treatment. However, clinical observations have indicated that some patients improve during treatment with doxycycline (DOX), but regain the symptoms some time after completed treatment. This may be due to an immunomodulatory effect of the drug. The aim of this randomised, double-blind crossover study was to determine whether DOX has an impact on the persistent symptoms through alterations in the immune response and whether such an effect can influence the clinical outcome.

A total of 15 patients from South-East Sweden with previously adequately diagnosed NB with diverse persistent symptoms ≥6months after antibiotic treatment were randomised in a double-blind, crossover fashion to receive either DOX 200 mg or placebo (PBO) once daily for three weeks, followed by a wash-out period of six weeks and a further three-weeks treatment with either DOX 200 mg or PBO once daily for three weeks. The primary outcome measures were improvement of the persistent symptoms and physical and mental health, evaluated using the visual analogue scale (VAS), the 36-item Short-Form General Health Survey (SF-36) and through physical examination with special emphasis on neurologic status at the follow-up visits. Secondary outcome measures were changes in drug-induced antigen-stimulated and unstimulated cytokine responses.

02

Conditions studied

  • Fatigue
  • Radicular Pain
  • Cognitive Dysfunction
  • Paresthesia
  • Paresis

Keywords

  • Persistent symptoms
  • Doxycycline
  • Placebo
  • Neuroborreliosis
03

In context

Fatigue

2,229 studies on the registry are indexed under Fatigue; 426 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 15 is below the median of 54 across 1,757 interventional studies indexed under Fatigue.

Browse Fatigue studies →

Lead sponsor

Linkoeping University is the lead sponsor of 193 studies on the registry; 40 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 85 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • a history of adequately diagnosed and treated neuroborreliosis (presence of intrathecal borrelia-antibody production)
  • persistence of symptoms (with debut in conjunction with neuroborreliosis) of typical character, such as headache, radiculitis, cognitive dysfunction, fatigue, mood disorders, paresthesia or paresis > 6 months post-treatment of neuroborreliosis

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • systemic (treatment with , cytostatics etc)
  • ongoing infection at inclusion
  • allergy against doxycycline
  • pregnancy
  • breast feeding
  • psychiatric disease
  • multiple sclerosis
  • rheumatoid arthritis
  • diabetes mellitus type 1 or II
  • inflammatory systemic diseases
  • liver ohc kidney dysfunction
  • treatment with didanosine, quinapril, antacids
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(3)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator)
Enrollment
15 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    Doxycycline

    Treatment with Capsule Doxycycline 200 mg, once daily, for 21 days.

    Drug: Doxycycline

  • Placebo comparator
    Sugar pill

    Capsule Placebo, 200 mg, once daily, for 21 days.

    Drug: Placebo

Interventions

  • Doxycycline, 100 mg, 2 capsules once daily, 24 hour time interval, 21 days.

    Also known as: Doxyferm, Vibramycin, Tetracycline

  • DrugPlacebo

    Placebo, 100 mg, 2 capsules once daily, 24 hour dosage interval, 21 days.

    Also known as: Sugar pill

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Improvement in persistent symptoms

    Time frame: 12 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Changes in cytokine levels in plasma/serum in patients during treatment with DOX/PBO

    Time frame: 12 weeks

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Clinic for Infectious Diseases, University Hospital
    Linköping, Östergötland 58185, Sweden
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Sjowall J, Ledel A, Ernerudh J, Ekerfelt C, Forsberg P. Doxycycline-mediated effects on persistent symptoms and systemic cytokine responses post-neuroborreliosis: a randomized, prospective, cross-over study. BMC Infect Dis. 2012 Aug 10;12:186. doi: 10.1186/1471-2334-12-186. PubMed 22876748 ↗
09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
Not marked actual or estimatedDates not marked actual or estimated

The record gives a start of Feb 2005, a primary completion of Feb 2008 and a completion of Feb 2008. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Sep 17, 2010
First posted
Sep 20, 2010
Start
Feb 2005
Primary completionActual
Feb 2008
CompletionActual
Feb 2008
Last update
Sep 20, 2010
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 20, 2010, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01205464
First posted
Sep 20, 2010
Start date
Feb 2005
Primary completion
Feb 2008
Completion
Feb 2008
Last update
Sep 20, 2010

Study contacts

Pia Forsberg, MD
principal investigator · Department of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping university, Sweden

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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Studies of the drug tested here: Doxycycline

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