Antibiotic Therapy and RBF: A Brief Chronology

Pre-1940s:
Many diseases, including those involving the connective tissue, are assumed to be caused by some form of infection

1939:
A Rockefeller Institute researcher, Dr. Albert Sabin, induces rheumatoid arthritis in a laboratory mouse by injecting tissues from a diseased animal into a healthy one.

A Sabin colleague, Dr. Thomas McPherson Brown, succeeds after 200 attempts to culture a little-understood infectious agent (later to be named mycoplasma) from the joint fluid of a human patient. Brown's article in Nature suggests it is the cause of rheumatoid arthritis.

1948:
Cortisone is isolated by doctors at the Mayo Clinic. Because cortisone, later sold as prednisone, suppresses the symptoms of inflammatory disease, it is mistaken for a cure. Mainstream medicine abandons the infectious theory in rheumatic disease.

1950:
Dr. Brown begins four decades of treating thousands of grateful patients with antibiotic therapy.

1970:
Retiring as Dean of Medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine, Brown establishes the Arthritis Institute of the National Hospital for Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation in Arlington, VA.

1971:
A small, poorly designed study on the effectiveness of tetracycline on RA patients is reported at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The unimpressive results of that study will be used for the next two decades to discourage further investigation into antibiotic therapy.

1970s-80s:
The NIH remains largely unresponsive to Congressional requests for research on mycoplasmas as a possible infectious cause of RA. Dr. Brown finds private funding for the Arthritis Institute.

1988:
Dr. Brown and writer Henry Scammell publish The Road Back (now out of print) describing Brown's many successes with antibiotic therapy and reviving a broader interest in the infectious theory. Although criticized by the American Rheumatism Association as unproven, both the theory and the book receive national attention in the media.

1989:
After a brilliant - and often frustrating - career of almost 60 years, Dr. Brown dies at the age of 83. Patients fear loss of access to antibiotic therapy, now referred to by the patient community as "AP" (Antibiotic Protocol).

1991:
Under renewed Congressional pressure (starting with many of Brown's patients), the NIH finally launches a major clinical trial of Minocycline in Rheumatoid Arthritis, with 214 patients at six study centers around the US.

1993:
The Road Back Foundation (RBF) is started by patients whose lives have been changed after reading about the treatment in Brown's book. In anticipation of the MIRA results, a new, expanded edition is issued as The Arthritis Breakthrough.

The positive results of the MIRA trial are presented at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Rheumatology but receive little media notice.

1995:
The MIRA study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine, which reports "highly significant improvement" in laboratory measurements and finds minocycline "safe and effective" in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

1998:
A three year NIH study in Nebraska reports the first remissions with minocycline and shows benefits from AP increase dramatically over time.

Results of the first study of Minocycline in Scleroderma, with two-thirds of the completers in remission, are announced at the International Society for Rheumatic Therapies in Boston. Sponsored by The Road Back Foundation and the NIH, the study is reported by CNN around the world. For the first time, there is hope for the effective management of this potentially fatal illness.

The New Arthritis Breakthrough is published, with results of the several clinical trials of minocycline in rheumatic diseases.

A companion book, Scleroderma, The Proven Therapy That Can Save Your Life, reports on the Harvard scleroderma study.

1999:
Fourth-year results of Nebraska NIH study show benefits from minocycline continue to rise over time, with unprecedented levels of remission.

2000:
RBF provides its literature free online at www.roadback.org.

A patient peer-to-peer online bulletin board helps patients and others interested in the therapy with questions, and a volunteer patient support network (APNCs- Antibiotic Protocol Network Contacts) expands in US, Canada, Australia, Japan and other locations abroad.

AP begins to gain greater attention within mainstream medicine as a safe and proven treatment. However, most rheumatologists continue to offer their patients expensive pharmaceuticals which may have serious side effects instead of antibiotic therapy.

USA Today publishes an article about scleroderma, RBF and AP, citing its promise for effectively managing the disease as well as its controversial status as a treatment option.

Saturday Evening Post cites RBF in article on minocycline therapy for RA and scleroderma.

2003:
ACR reports that "standard" therapies for RA work better with minocycline than alone.

Canadian meta-analysis in Rheumatology suggests minocycline is underprescribed despite its proven effectiveness in RA.

2004:
RBF upgrades its web site and increases its traffic to millions of hits monthly offering information and support to its visitors.

Additional research initiatives are explored and being developed.

2005:
RBF supports Harris Interactive poll to evaluate the experiences of people taking antibiotics to treat rheumatic diseases.

2006:
Harris Poll results of responders indicate more benefits with antibiotic treatment than traditional prescribed medication. Markers include reduced swelling, pain, fatigue and stiffness, slowed progression of condition and improved concentration/memory, function and quality of life.

Road Back Foundation announces the sad news of the passing of author and advocate Henry Scammell. His books The Road Back, The New Arthritis Breakthrough and Scleroderma: The Proven Therapy That Can Save Your Life have provided educational and scientific information about a treatment that has saved lives and improved the quality of life of thousands of individuals around the world.

RBF furthered it mission of advocacy for antibiotic therapy to treat rheumatic disease by having an exhibit booth at the November 2006 symposium of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in Washington, DC. Over 9,000 physicians and other healthcare professionals attended.

2007:
Once again, RBF volunteers from around the country staff an exhibit booth at the 2007 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) symposium in Boston.  Information about antibiotic therapy, a compiled listing of studies and a sample of case histories were provided as handouts for interested visitors.  Thousands of physicians and other healthcare professionals were in attendance.

The RBF Board of Directors held a strategic planning meeting, after the ACR exhibit, to recruit more volunteers with specific skills. Additional volunteers attended the meeting and a brainstorming session created a forward thinking plan of action to further disseminate information about antibiotic therapy and rheumatic disease.  The meeting brought together an impressive assortment of people with highly developed talents for the task at hand.

2008:
RBF acknowledges its 15th year since its founding and planned changes that visitors to the RBF website and others associated with the Foundation will find helpful and inspiring are to be implemented.