Cautions
Contrary to most other tetracycline antibiotics (doxycycline excluded), minocycline may be used in renal impairment, but may aggravate systemic lupus erythematosus. It may also trigger or unmask autoimmune hepatitis.
Also, more so than other tetracyclines, minocycline can cause the rare condition of secondary intracranial hypertension which has initial symptoms of headache, visual disturbances, dizziness, vomiting, and confusion. Cerebral edema, as well as autoimmune rheumatoid arthritis are rare side effects to minocycline in some people.
Minocycline, like most tetracyclines, becomes dangerous past its expiration date. While most prescription drugs lose potency after their expiration dates, tetracyclines are known to become toxic over time. Expired tetracyclines can cause serious damage to the kidney due to the formation of a degradation product, anhydro-4-epitetracycline. Minocycline's absorption is impaired if taken at the same time of day as calcium or iron supplements. Unlike some of the other tetracycline group antibiotics, it can be taken with calcium-rich foods such as milk, although this does reduce the absorption slightly. Minocycline should be taken with plenty of water. If taking this drug, one should avoid prolonged or excessive exposure to direct sunlight.
A study published in 2007, suggested that minocycline harms ALS patients. Patients on minocycline declined more rapidly than those on placebo. The mechanism of this side effect is unknown, although a hypothesis is that the drug exacerbated an autoimmune commonent of the primary disease. According to the researcher from Columbia University the effect does not seem to be dose-dependent because the patients on high doses did not do worse than those on the low doses.
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