tetracycline and Disease

The role of laboratory monitoring in patients receiving long-term oral antibiotics for acne vulgaris has not been clearly defined.. The purpose of our study was (1) to evaluate the literature for objective evidence on the value of routine laboratory monitoring of the asymptomatic patient receiving oral antibiotics for acne and (2) to determine the utilization of laboratory monitoring of these patients by Connecticut dermatologists.. We surveyed Connecticut dermatologists by phone and inquired about the laboratory monitoring performed in patients receiving long-term oral tetracycline, minocycline, or erythromycin for acne.. Eight published studies reported a total of 777 patients who had laboratory monitoring at various frequencies while receiving oral antibiotics for acne. Only one adverse drug reaction (ADR) was detected in a patient in whom mild hyperbilirubinemia developed. Of the 75 Connecticut dermatologists who participated in our survey, 48 (64%) perform some laboratory monitoring; 29% do so routinely, and 35% under special circumstances.. Our literature review does not support routine laboratory monitoring in all patients who receive long-term oral antibiotics for acne; rarely does such screening detect an ADR and thus does not justify the cost of such testing. A relatively small proportion of Connecticut dermatologists check laboratory tests more frequently than appears necessary; in our opinion, laboratory monitoring should be limited to patients who may be at higher risk for an ADR.

Topics: Acne Vulgaris; Dermatology; Disease; Drug Monitoring; Erythromycin; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Hematopoietic System; Humans; Kidney; Liver; Long-Term Care; Minocycline; Tetracycline; Time Factors

Cell loss contributes to the pathogenesis of many inherited and acquired human diseases. We have developed a system to conditionally ablate cells of any lineage and developmental stage in the mouse by regulated expression of the diphtheria toxin A (DTA) gene by using tetracycline-responsive promoters. As an example of this approach, we targeted expression of DTA to the hearts of adult mice to model structural abnormalities commonly observed in human cardiomyopathies. Induction of DTA expression resulted in cell loss, fibrosis, and chamber dilatation. As in many human cardiomyopathies, transgenic mice developed spontaneous arrhythmias in vivo, and programmed electrical stimulation of isolated-perfused transgenic hearts demonstrated a strikingly high incidence of spontaneous and inducible ventricular tachycardia. Affected mice showed marked perturbations of cardiac gap junction channel expression and localization, including a subset with disorganized epicardial activation patterns as revealed by optical action potential mapping. These studies provide important insights into mechanisms of arrhythmogenesis and suggest that conditional lineage ablation may have wide applicability for studies of disease pathogenesis.

Topics: Action Potentials; Animals; Cardiomyopathies; Connexins; Diphtheria Toxin; Disease; Disease Models, Animal; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; Gap Junction alpha-5 Protein; Gene Targeting; Heart; Histocytochemistry; Humans; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Myocardium; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Tachycardia, Ventricular; Tetracycline

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Child; Child, Preschool; Disease; Female; Humans; Male; Tetracycline; Tooth Abnormalities; Tooth Discoloration

Topics: Ampicillin; Animal Feed; Animals; Bacteriophage Typing; Cattle; Chloramphenicol; Disease; Disease Outbreaks; Feces; Food Microbiology; Humans; Meat; Meningitis; Penicillin Resistance; Salmonella; Salmonella Infections; Switzerland; Tetracycline

Topics: Aerosols; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Disease; Humans; Respiration Disorders; Respiratory System; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Tetracycline

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Bacterial Infections; Bronchi; Bronchial Diseases; Disease; Humans; Respiratory Tract Infections; Tetracycline

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antibiotics, Antitubercular; Disease; Knee; Micrococcus; Oleandomycin; Tetracycline

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Cellulitis; Disease; Humans; Orbit; Orbital Diseases; Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; Tetracycline

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Chloramphenicol; Disease; Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; Tetracycline; Urogenital System; Urologic Diseases

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Disease; Intestinal Diseases; Intestines; Staphylococcal Infections; Tetracycline

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Cortisone; Disease; Female; Humans; Pelvic Inflammatory Disease; Pelvis; Tetracycline

Topics: Disease; Eye; Humans; Neuritis; Optic Nerve; Optic Nerve Diseases; Optic Neuritis; Prednisone; Tetracycline

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Chronic Disease; Disease; Humans; Maxillary Sinus; Maxillary Sinusitis; Paranasal Sinus Diseases; Sinusitis; Tetracycline

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Chloramphenicol; Disease; Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; Tetracycline; Urogenital System; Urologic Diseases

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Communicable Diseases; Disease; Humans; North Carolina; Pelvic Infection; Pelvis; Prednisone; Tetracycline

Topics: Chloramphenicol; Disease; Female; Genital Diseases, Female; Humans; Prolapse; Tetracycline; Urinary Tract Infections; Urination Disorders; Urologic Diseases; Uterine Diseases; Uterus

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Cornea; Corneal Diseases; Disease; Humans; Tetanus; Tetracycline

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antibiotics, Antitubercular; Disease; Intestinal Diseases; Intestines; Oleandomycin; Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; Tetracycline

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Chronic Disease; Cortisone; Disease; Female; Humans; Pelvic Inflammatory Disease; Pelvis; Tetracycline

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Disease; Humans; Tetracycline; Urinary Tract Infections; Urogenital System; Urologic Diseases

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antibiotics, Antitubercular; Candidiasis; Disease; Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; Tetracycline; Ureter; Ureteral Diseases; Urinary Tract Infections

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Disease; Humans; Tetracycline; Urogenital System

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Disease; Intestinal Diseases; Intestines; Intraabdominal Infections; Protein Synthesis Inhibitors; Tetracycline