Drug Prescribed for Acne May Slow Progress of ALS

Results of McGill University Study Announced Today

Investigators at McGill University Health Centre Research Institute today announced exciting new results in an ALS research study involving the antibiotic minocycline. The investigators demonstrated that minocycline, commonly prescribed for acne, delays the progression of the disease in mice engineered to develop ALS.

The effect of minocycline is greater than that reported for creatine or zVAD-fmk (a compound that blocks proteins involved in cell deathpathways), both shown to significantly prolong the lifespan in mouse models of ALS. The exact mechanism of how the compound is effective in slowing disease progression is unclear. The McGill University study marked reduction of inflammation in the brains of treated mice and significant sparing of motor axons. For more information on the minocycline study, visit the ALS Society of Canada at www.als.ca The findings of the investigative team of Jasna Kriz, Minh Dang Nguyen and Jean-Pierre Julien will be published in the June issue of Neurobiology of Disease.

Jean Pierre Julien, winner of the Sheila Essey Award for ALS Research in 2000, applied the grant funds to his work in this effort. The Sheila Essey Award is granted annually by The ALS Association (ALSA) in conjunction with the American Academy of Neurology to honor an individual who has made significant contributions to the search for the cause, treatment, prevention or cure for ALS. For more information about the 2000 Sheila Essey Award, see www.alsa.org/news/news050200.cfm

The study at McGill was funded by The ALS Society of Canada and the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada as well as The Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins University.

The certified ALSA Center at the University of New Mexico is conducting a randomized, placebo-controlled safety and efficacy trial of minocycline for the treatment of ALS. The current study is fully enrolled. Study data and results are expected to be available in the fall of 2002. This small trial followed a five-patient open-label prospective protocol. This is the first study of minocycline in people with ALS. Any benefit from minocycline will have an impact on therapy for ALS and in the understanding of its pathogenesis. The ALS Association is supportive of further study of minocycline for treatment of ALS and will post news about any forthcoming clinical trials on its web site.

Source: The ALS Research Association