Lead researcher Dr. David Hess, chairman of the Department of Neurology, Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine said that an old drug known as minocycline can reduce stroke damage in more ways inhibiting white blood cells and enzymes that, at least acute, can destroy brain tissue and blood vessels.

The antibiotic may also reduce the suicide cell in the minutes and hours after a stroke, which allows more cells to recover.

“It ‘a safe drug that is easy to give and tolerate, that gets in the brain well, and may reduce bleeding, the main side effect of tPA. We think it will hit smaller and better patient outcomes,” said Dr Hess.

TPA drugs is the only FDA-approved drug therapy for strokes. The team conducting a clinical trial that will study the drug in 60 patients with stroke in Georgia, Kentucky and Oregon say they consider the antibiotic will be a safe, effective adjunctive therapy for tPA, the only FDA-approved drug therapy for strokes.

Animal studies have shown the drug, given within six hours of a stroke, then every 12 hours for a maximum of three days, time peak of inflammation, may reduce damage from stroke to 40 percent.

“We know it’s safe for humans and we know the concentrations we need to see improvement in the brains of rats can be reached safely in humans,” said Dr. Susan C. Fagan, professor of pharmacy at the University of Georgia, assistant dean for MCG programme UGA College of Pharmacy and study co-investigator.

Researchers will focus on drug’s safety and optimal dose between patients within six hours of onset of symptoms and measurable with neurological symptoms.

Participants will receive one of four doses, starting with 200 mg, the most common dose already used, and increase gradually up to 700 milligrams and half their first dose after 12 hours for a period of three days and then be followed for 90 days .

“We want to be drawing samples from patients to make sure we reach concentrations in the blood that we want, the more we want to define the half-life in stroke patients to see if it is different from that in younger patients who take it for other reasons, ’said Dr Fagan.

Would be looking in the blood of biological indicators, indicators of inflammation, to see if factors inflammatory rise after three days, which could provide a clue about how to treat patients.

Dr. Hess said that Minocycline fights inflammation is inhibiting microglial cells, white blood cells activated by a stroke and also blocks apoptosis, or cell suicide.

“We wanted something that could give at least three hours after the stroke or later,” said Fagan.