Minocycline to treat stroke

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New stroke treatment is developed

TEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Israeli scientists have determined people treated with minocycline within six to 24 hours after a stroke suffer significantly fewer disabilities.

The study's lead author, Dr. Yair Lampl of the Edith Wolfson Medical Center and Tel Aviv University, said minocycline might be an alternative treatment because current stroke treatments only work during the first few hours after symptom onset.

For the study, 152 men and women received either minocycline or placebo for five days following stroke. People receiving minocycline were treated an average of 13 hours after stroke compared with 12 hours for the placebo group.

The study found people treated with minocycline had significantly better outcomes. After three months, the minocycline group performed four times better than the placebo group on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale that measures vision, facial palsy, movement and speaking ability.

"The improvement was already apparent within a week of the stroke," Lampl said. "This is exciting because many people who have had stroke cannot be treated if they don't get to the hospital within three hours after symptoms start, which is the time frame for current available treatments."

The research is detailed in the October issue of the journal Neurology.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International. .