News tagged with minocycline

Minocycline (INN) is a broad-spectrum tetracycline antibiotic, and has a broader spectrum than the other members of the group. It is a bacteriostatic antibiotic, classified as a long-acting type. As a result of its long half-life it generally has serum levels 2-4 times that of the simple water-soluble tetracyclines (150 mg giving 16 times the activity levels compared to 250 mg of tetracycline at 24–48 hours).

Minocycline is the most lipid-soluble of the tetracycline-class antibiotics, giving it the greatest penetration into the prostate and brain, but also the greatest amount of central nervous system (CNS)-related side effects. These include vertigo and idiopathic intracranial hypertension (pseudotumor cerebri), and are significantly more common in female patients.

Due to poor urinary excretion, minocycline is a relatively poor tetracycline-class antibiotic choice for urinary pathogens sensitive to this antibiotic class, as its solubility in water, and levels in the urine, are less than all other tetracyclines.

Minocycline is not a naturally-occuring antibiotic, but was synthesized semi-synthetically from natural tetracycline antibiotics by Lederle Laboratories in 1972, and marketed by them under the brand name Minocin.