If researchers can identify what the triggering mechanism is, they may be able to develop a vaccine for treatment. Study participants showed a 50 percent or greater improvement in the number of swollen and tender joints. Researchers are not certain why or how minocycline works. It is an antibiotic, but it may also work to inhibit enzymes that contribute to the destruction of bone and cartilage. It may also work by reducing inflammation.
Additional research needs to be conducted to determine exactly how minocycline acts.
Biologic response modifiers are also being studied. These are proteins, which can be isolated and synthetically produced in the laboratory, that regulate parts of the chemical reactions in the body resulting in inflammation. Researchers want to determine how this process takes place and how to stop it at various locations in the body. It is a key messenger in the body's chemical reaction that leads to inflammation. TNF is a cytokine, which is a family of inflammation-causing substances.