Successful Use of Minocycline for the Treatment of Methamphetamine-Induced Psychosis and Cognitive Impairments: An Open-Label Case Series

Abstract

Aim Methamphetamine-induced psychosis and neuropsychological impairments are common among patients with methamphetamine use disorder. Given some preclinical and clinical studies reporting potential effects of minocycline, a second-generation tetracycline, on correcting manifestations of drug addiction, this study aimed to examine the effectiveness of minocycline in attenuating psychotic symptoms and neuropsychological impairments in chronic methamphetamine users. Method Five men with treatment-resistant methamphetamine use disorder and psychotic symptoms were selected using a convenience sampling method, and they were administered a daily dose of 200-mg minocycline for 8 weeks; within this period, psychiatric and neuropsychological assessments (including memory and executive functions) were carried out at the baseline, week 2, week 4, week 8, and 2-month follow-up. Results The findings showed that minocycline attenuated both positive (Cohen d = 0.63) and negative (Cohen d = 0.53) methamphetamine-induced psychotic symptoms and also improved patients' neuropsychological functions, particularly their auditory working memory (Cohen d = 0.45). Conclusions These results provide promising evidence regarding the positive effects of minocycline as adjunctive pharmacotherapy for patients with methamphetamine use disorder. However, given that this was an open-label study, further research is warranted to draw a firm conclusion about the effectiveness of minocycline for methamphetamine-induced psychosis and neuropsychological deficits.

Akebia saponin D protects hippocampal neurogenesis from microglia-mediated inflammation and ameliorates depressive-like behaviors and cognitive impairment in mice through the PI3K-Akt pathway

“…Several studies have shown that inhibitors of microglial activation such as minocycline can suppress pro-inflammatory cytokine expression and restore hippocampal neurogenesis, as well as ameliorate depressive-like behaviors and cognitive impairment ( Zhang et al, 2020b ; Alavi et al, 2021 ; Bassett et al, 2021 ). Our results are consistent with the observation that variations in the relatively small number of new neurons in adult brains of humans and rodents is strongly linked to the pathogenesis and remission of neuropsychiatric disorders ( Grace et al, 2021 ).…”