WESTPORT, Jun 28 (Reuters Health) - Minocycline delays mortality in a mouse
model of Huntington's disease, according to study findings published in the July issue
of Nature Medicine.

"It would be one of the first drugs that would be effective for Huntington disease," the
study's senior author, Dr. Robert M. Friedlander, of Brigham and Women's Hospital,
in Boston, Massachusetts, told Reuters Health in an interview. He cautioned that
clinical trials need to be conducted to prove its safety and effectiveness in humans.

According to Dr. Friedlander and colleagues, the enzyme caspase-1 and inducible
nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS) are believed to have "a detrimental role" in
Huntington's disease. Since the antibiotic minocycline crosses the blood-brain barrier
and inhibits caspase-1 and the upregulation of iNOS, the researchers tested its effects
in a mouse model of the disease.

In mice that received daily minocycline, disease symptoms occurred significantly later
than in mice treated with saline, and survival was extended by 14%, the researchers
report. In contrast, disease progression and mortality were unaffected in mice treated
with tetracycline, indicating "that the protective effect of minocycline does not result
from a systemic effect, but rather from direct action on the brain," according to the
researchers.

Dr. Friedlander's team also reports that minocycline not only reduced brain levels of
caspase-1, but also inhibited iNOS activity by 72%. In addition, they produced the first
evidence that the upregulation of caspase-1 and caspase-3 occurs in a model of
Huntington's disease.

The researchers note that "minocycline has been used in humans for extended periods
of time with relatively few side effects." They add, "With the described results, and
with the relatively low toxicity, minocycline represents a new potential therapeutic
agent for the treatment of Huntington's disease."

In the interview, Dr. Friedlander said that minocycline would most likely be used in
combination with other drugs that are developed to treat the disease. "It's not a cure
for Huntington disease," said Dr. Friedlander, but "we're getting there."

Nat Med 2000;6:797-801.

Thank you for the information. I did some reading. Minocyline also has some disturbing side effects on the liver....possibly hepatitis or even liver cancer. It must be one powerful chemical.

salt