Minocycline study

October 2, 2007, 9:04 am
An Old Antibiotic Could Reduce Stroke Damage
Posted by Jacob Goldstein
A generic antibiotic often used to treat acne may find a new life as a
treatment for strokes.

Patients who received the drug, minocycline, within a day of having a
stroke had less risk of long-term mental and physical impairments than
similar patients who didn't receive the drug, says a study published
in Neurology. Minocyline was discovered decades ago by Lederle
Laboratories, now part of Wyeth, and is marketed under the brand-name
Minocin.

The provocative study in stroke treatment was pretty small - 150
patients total - and will need to be repeated in a larger group of
patients before doctors accept the findings, the Los Angeles Times
notes.

But the findings are promising, partly because there's not much
doctors can do for many patients who've just had a stroke. Genentech's
drug tPA is approved to bust clots causing stroke, but only when given
almost immediately after the onset of symptoms - a window that makes
treatment tough.

As this NIH page explains, minocycline tends to reduce inflammation,
and may prevent the death of brain cells associated with stroke and
other neurological problems. It's also being tested in patients with
Lou Gehrig's disease and Huntington's disease.

The study enrolled patients who arrived at the hospital too late for
clot-busting therapy, and excluded those who were already showing
signs of recovery. Patients and their doctors knew who was getting
minocylcine and who was getting placebo, but the neurologists who
evaluated the patients in the following weeks did not.

The patients were evaluated based on the NIH stroke scale. After three
months, those who received minocycline had an average score 1.6, which
indicates little or no disability. Patients who got placebo had an
average score of 6.5, which indicates mild disability.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Magnetism, Electricity May Treat Strokes
    ... Malcolm Ritter, "Magnetism, Electricity May Treat Strokes", Miami ... It was a stroke. ... It sent magnetic pulses into her brain. ... It's one of a handful of recent experiments in stroke patients that ...
    (sci.med)
  • Vibrating shoe insoles help with balance
    ... they mention stroke and diabetic ... NEW YORK Jan 24 - Vibrating insoles can improve ... balance in patients with diabetic neuropathy and stroke, ...
    (alt.support.mult-sclerosis)
  • Effects of Intense Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Reduction in Patients With Stroke or Tran
    ... Patients With Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack ... The Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels ... Methods-- This post hoc analysis was based on 55 045 LDL-C measurements ...
    (sci.med.cardiology)
  • stroke treatment
    ... Patients with transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke are at ... high immediate risk of stroke. ...
    (sci.med.cardiology)
  • Re: Minocycline study
    ... Minocycline treatment in acute stroke ... To analyze the effect of minocycline treatment in human ... Patients with acute stroke had significantly better ...
    (sci.med.cardiology)