The first group was given the antibiotic doxycycline for 12 weeks, the second group was given a combination of the antibiotics clarithromycin and hydroxychloroquine, and the third group was given a placebo.
It is also given in conjunction with methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine as part of a regimen of «triple therapy» which has been shown to provide benefits to patients who have had inadequate responses to methotrexate alone.