Antibiotics may be useful for neurological diseases
Beta-lactam antibiotics have neuroprotective properties in addition to their antibacterial actions, new research suggests, and may have a place in the treatment of stroke in the future.
US scientists performed a range of in vitro tests and found that certain
antibiotics, in particular the beta-lactam group, stimulate expression
of the glutamate transporter GLT1. GLT1 is involved in the inactivation
of the neurotransmitter glutamate and is therefore important in preventing
glutamate neurotoxicity.
The scientists then administered several beta-lactam antibiotics to mouse
models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurological disorder which,
in humans, causes progressive paralysis and death. They found that daily
injection of ceftriaxone 200mg/kg delayed neurodegeneration and loss
of muscle strength and increased overall survival of the mice by 10 days
compared with controls.
The mice treated with ceftriaxone were found to have three times the
level of GLT1 in their brains. The scientists say that many beta-lactam
antibiotics are potent stimulators of GLT1 expression, an action that
appears to be mediated by increased transcription of the GLT1 gene.
They conclude that this approach is the first to show pharmaceutical
modulation of the glutamate transporter, and could be applied in other
conditions caused by abnormal glutamate control, such as stroke, brain
tumours and epilepsy (Nature 2005;433:73). |
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