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A positive study on minocycline and neuroprotection

Multiple neuroprotective mechanisms of minocycline in autoimmune CNS inflammation

Available therapies mainly target the inflammatory component of the disease but fail to prevent neurodegeneration.

Functional and histopathological data of RGCs and optic nerves revealed neuronal and axonal protection when minocycline treatment was started on the day of immunization.

Furthermore, we demonstrate that minocycline-induced neuroprotection is related to a direct antagonism of multiple mechanisms leading to neuronal cell death such as the induction of anti-apoptotic intracellular signalling pathways and a decrease in glutamate excitotoxicity. From these observations, we conclude that minocycline exerts neuroprotective effects independent of its anti-inflammatory properties.

It doesn't look like they needed Copaxone to achieve these results.

Sharon

Good news!! Do you think they will actually be able to push it through on it's own? I wonder.

Very interesting. Might this indicate that those on one of the combination antibiotic protocols might be seeing a benefit that has nothing to do with the antibiotic properties of the drugs they are taking? I am convinced that these drugs are having a positive effect on their disease. I wish somebody would just fund a damn study on this, but I guess there's not enough money to be made...

Scooby

Do you think they will actually be able to push it through on it's own? I wonder

I wonder too. I think it's doubtful it would happen in the US but these researchers are in Germany, so who knows? It would be nice though.

marcstk

Might this indicate that those on one of the combination antibiotic protocols might be seeing a benefit that has nothing to do with the antibiotic properties of the drugs they are taking?

Personally I think it could mean that. There are of course many who would disagree with me. In a discussion about the Avonex tetracycline trial someone framed a similar question and dubbed it the million dollar question.

Sharon

I don't think it's crazy to consider the anti-inflammatory effects of antibiotics, and at least one company out there is looking into it. For some 2006 info on Paratek, the company working with Serono to develop an oral, non-antibacterial tetracyline derivitive to treat MS, see slides 16-21 of this presentation:

http://www.jefferies.com/pdfs/confs/060 ... alsInc.pdf

Marcstck said:

Very interesting. Might this indicate that those on one of the combination antibiotic protocols might be seeing a benefit that has nothing to do with the antibiotic properties of the drugs they are taking?

Of course people are experiencing both neuro-protective and anti-inflammatory benefits as well as the antibiotic benefits: when I swapped from doxycycline, which is very immunomodulatory to rifampicin, which isn't, I felt it for more than a few weeks! However, with someone like me, with very aggressive progressive disease, to have her disease stopped dead in its tracks, who then experiences a pretty marked improvement in her condition which continues long after stopping full-time antibiotics, it is more than neuroprotection. I do still improve bit by bit in ever lengthening periods when I am not taking anything and although I know that I am never going to be completely as I was before, I also know that I am not going to get worse due to MS.

Sarah