ABSTRACT
Minocycline is a widely used tetracycline antibiotic. For decades, it has been used to treat various gram-positive and gram-negative infections. Minocycline was recently shown to have neuroprotective properties in animal models of acute neurologic injury. As a neuroprotective agent, the drug appears more effective than other treatment options. In addition to its high penetration of the blood-brain barrier, minocycline is a safe compound commonly used to treat chronic infections. Its several mechanisms of action in neuroprotection -- antiinflammatory and antiapoptotic effects, and protease inhibition -- make it a desirable candidate as therapy for acute neurologic injury, such as ischemic stroke. Minocycline is ready for clinical trials of acute neurologic injury.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Anti-Inflammatory Agents , Minocycline/pharmacology , Neuroprotective Agents , Animals , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Apoptosis/drug effects , Brain Injuries/complications , Brain Injuries/drug therapy , Humans , Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain/prevention & control , Matrix Metalloproteinases/drug effects , Minocycline/therapeutic use , Stroke/prevention & controlABSTRACT
An important area of experimental stroke research addresses the development of brain hemorrhage after cerebral ischemia. Investigations of hemorrhagic transformation, however, have been compromised by the absence of sensitive methods for quantification of hemorrhagic transformation. We have developed a direct ELISA method that is sensitive, reproducible and can be conducted on tissue treated with triphenyltetrazolium chloride, a stain commonly used for infarct size determination. We have also localized the slices containing the most hemoglobin to facilitate a single slice analysis. This allows two essential variables in experimental stroke research to be assessed on the same slice, leaving the rest of the brain available for other analysis.
