Minocycline, an acne drug which had showed promise in treating ALS in earlier trials on mice, failed in human clinical trials stated a report in Lancet Neurology. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a degenerative nerve condition. First diagnosed in 1939, its causes are unknown but the disease is fatal within two to five years of diagnosis.
Researchers had hoped that the antibiotic would slow the progress of the cell death in the brain that causes the disease but instead found that the clinical test on 412 human patients caused a 25 percent acceleration in the progression of the illness.
"Our finding that minocycline has a harmful effect on patients with ALS has implications for trials of minocycline in patients with other neurological disorders," Columbia University researcher Paul Gordon and colleagues wrote.
The failure of the study also puts doubt on planned studies for people with Multiple Sclerosis, Huntington's disease and who have suffered a stroke.
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