Antibiotic studied to reduce hemorrhagic stroke damage

Wow, a hyperacute possibility for a hemorrhagic stroke. It only took 4 years to get to this stage from the earlier testing in animals
A Great stroke association would have gotten trials going within a year.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-antibiotic-hemorrhagic.html
A new study will help determine if an antibiotic is a partial antidote for the poisonous effect blood has on the brain following a hemorrhagic stroke, researchers say. Ads by Google 5 Signs You'll Get Cancer - These 5 Signs Warn You That Cancer Is Starting Inside Your Body. - www.newsmax.com They want to know if minocycline, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, can reduce high rates of disability from this comparatively rare stroke type characterized by spontaneous bleeds into the brain, said Dr. Jeffrey A. Switzer, stroke specialist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University. "We hope that, given early, minocycline can help reduce the damage of a type of stroke for which there is currently no proven therapy," Switzer said. He is principal investigator on an American Heart Association grant funding a trial enrolling 24 patients over two years, half of whom will get minocycline. Dr. David Hess, Chair of the MCG Department of Neurology, and Dr. Susan C. Fagan, Assistant Dean of the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, have shown minocycline is safe and potentially effective at combating some collateral damage of the more common clot-based strokes. In a follow-up analysis, minocycline also appeared to reduce the inflammation that follows the initial stroke as well as levels of matrix metalloproteinases, or MMPs, a family of enzymes that destroys the basement membrane of blood vessels, making rupture more likely. Elevated levels of MMPs and inflammatory cells have been found in the blood of both kinds of stroke patients and high levels correlate with poor outcomes. Minocycline also is known as a powerful collector of iron, a vital blood component that helps transport oxygen inside blood vessels but poisons brain tissue upon direct contact. Switzer hopes minocycline will reduce levels of all three in hemorrhagic stroke, reducing bleeding and the size and impact of the stroke. Nearly 40 percent of hemorrhagic strokes increase in size during the first 24 hours. Most of the growth occurs within the first few hours, so timely intervention could reduce brain tissue loss, he said.

A new study will help determine if an antibiotic is a partial antidote for the poisonous effect blood has on the brain following a hemorrhagic stroke, researchers say. Ads by Google 5 Signs You'll Get Cancer - These 5 Signs Warn You That Cancer Is Starting Inside Your Body. - www.newsmax.com They want to know if minocycline, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, can reduce high rates of disability from this comparatively rare stroke type characterized by spontaneous bleeds into the brain, said Dr. Jeffrey A. Switzer, stroke specialist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University. "We hope that, given early, minocycline can help reduce the damage of a type of stroke for which there is currently no proven therapy," Switzer said. He is principal investigator on an American Heart Association grant funding a trial enrolling 24 patients over two years, half of whom will get minocycline. Dr. David Hess, Chair of the MCG Department of Neurology, and Dr. Susan C. Fagan, Assistant Dean of the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, have shown minocycline is safe and potentially effective at combating some collateral damage of the more common clot-based strokes. In a follow-up analysis, minocycline also appeared to reduce the inflammation that follows the initial stroke as well as levels of matrix metalloproteinases, or MMPs, a family of enzymes that destroys the basement membrane of blood vessels, making rupture more likely. Elevated levels of MMPs and inflammatory cells have been found in the blood of both kinds of stroke patients and high levels correlate with poor outcomes. Minocycline also is known as a powerful collector of iron, a vital blood component that helps transport oxygen inside blood vessels but poisons brain tissue upon direct contact. Switzer hopes minocycline will reduce levels of all three in hemorrhagic stroke, reducing bleeding and the size and impact of the stroke. Nearly 40 percent of hemorrhagic strokes increase in size during the first 24 hours. Most of the growth occurs within the first few hours, so timely intervention could reduce brain tissue loss, he said.

Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-antibiotic-hemorrhagic.html#jCp

A new study will help determine if an antibiotic is a partial antidote for the poisonous effect blood has on the brain following a hemorrhagic stroke, researchers say. Ads by Google 5 Signs You'll Get Cancer - These 5 Signs Warn You That Cancer Is Starting Inside Your Body. - www.newsmax.com They want to know if minocycline, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, can reduce high rates of disability from this comparatively rare stroke type characterized by spontaneous bleeds into the brain, said Dr. Jeffrey A. Switzer, stroke specialist at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University. "We hope that, given early, minocycline can help reduce the damage of a type of stroke for which there is currently no proven therapy," Switzer said. He is principal investigator on an American Heart Association grant funding a trial enrolling 24 patients over two years, half of whom will get minocycline. Dr. David Hess, Chair of the MCG Department of Neurology, and Dr. Susan C. Fagan, Assistant Dean of the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, have shown minocycline is safe and potentially effective at combating some collateral damage of the more common clot-based strokes. In a follow-up analysis, minocycline also appeared to reduce the inflammation that follows the initial stroke as well as levels of matrix metalloproteinases, or MMPs, a family of enzymes that destroys the basement membrane of blood vessels, making rupture more likely. Elevated levels of MMPs and inflammatory cells have been found in the blood of both kinds of stroke patients and high levels correlate with poor outcomes. Minocycline also is known as a powerful collector of iron, a vital blood component that helps transport oxygen inside blood vessels but poisons brain tissue upon direct contact. Switzer hopes minocycline will reduce levels of all three in hemorrhagic stroke, reducing bleeding and the size and impact of the stroke. Nearly 40 percent of hemorrhagic strokes increase in size during the first 24 hours. Most of the growth occurs within the first few hours, so timely intervention could reduce brain tissue loss, he said.

Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-antibiotic-hemorrhagic.html#jCp