Pulse Therapy
Why Is It Important to Prescribe Antibiotics Every Other Day?

Thomas McPherson Brown, M.D., an originator in the use of antibiotics for the treatment of rheumatic diseases, found that low dose would do the job, was the most effective dose, and also the safest dose to use. He usually prescribed the antibiotic every other day (pulse therapy) or Monday, Wednesday and Friday - once a day for minocycline and doxycycline and twice a day for tetracycline. Clindamycin is also often used in combination with a tetracycline, either orally or IV.

The tetracyclines and clindamycin work on different levels, therefore may be a useful combination of antibiotics. The tetracyclines appear to prevent protein synthesis by reacting with the 305 portion of the ribosome thus pre venting the binding of the amino acid mRNA complex to mRNA. Clindamycin reacts with the 50S portion of the ribosome and inhibits peptide bond formation.

In the complex chemistry which makes up the human immune response, oxidation is a common occurrence.Excessive oxidation can cause damage to tissues, as can the tetracycline's toxicity to these same tissues. Pulse therapy gives the tissues time to recover between doses which daily doses do not allow.

Constant exposure to antibiotics is necessary when dealing with a virulent, pathogenic organism, but not in the case of mycoplasma, strep or other L-forms. In this situation more is not necessarily better. Daily or twice daily doses of antibiotic used long-term can make the response to the treatment in some patients worse than the disease, and can also permanently inhibit the oxidative respiratory enzymes. Pulse therapy gives tissues already sensitized by inflammation, a chance to recover.

The development of drug resistance is also nearly non-existent even when pulse therapy is used for years.