Experimental neurology
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Experimental neurology · Sep 2010
Lack of neuroprotective effects of simvastatin and minocycline in a model of cervical spinal cord injury.
Minocycline, a commonly prescribed tetracycline antibiotic, has shown promise as a potential therapeutic agent in animal models of numerous neurologic disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, stroke, and spinal cord injury (SCI). Simvastatin is one of many hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme-A reductase inhibitors prescribed to lower cholesterol. These drugs are also known to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, improve endothelial function, and modulate the immune system in stroke, traumatic brain injury, and SCI. ⋯ Animals treated for 42 days with simvastatin scored significantly higher in the grooming score compared to other groups, but retrieved significantly fewer pellets on the modified Montoya staircase test than control and minocycline treated animals. Histologically, there were no significant differences in white and gray matter sparing and in the extent of corticospinal and rubrospinal sprouting between the four groups. In conclusion, both minocycline and simvastatin failed to improve functional and histological recovery in our model of contusive cervical spinal cord injury.