Limited minocycline neuroprotection after balloon-compression spinal cord injury in the rat.

Minocycline (MC), a second-generation tetracycline and anti-inflammatory agent reportedly provides neuroprotection following CNS injury. The objective of this study was to examine the neuroprotective effects of short and long-term MC treatment using balloon-compression spinal cord injury (SCI) in the rat. Rats subjected to SCI were treated with MC for 1 day (1DMC group; total dose 180 mg/kg) or 5 days (5DMC group; total dose 450 mg/kg) or placebo. The effects of MC treatment on locomotor recovery (BBB scale) and spinal cord white and gray matter sparing were evaluated for up to 28 days. Morphometric analysis showed that while MC treatment spared spinal cord white and gray matter rostral to the lesion epicenter in both, 1DMC and 5DMC groups, sparing of white and gray matter areas was not observed caudal to the traumatic lesion. In addition, MC treatment had no effect on final locomotor recovery. Limited improvement of spinal cord post-compression consequences raises questions about the neuroprotection efficiency of MC treatment following compression SCI in the rat.