A study by researchers at NUS Medicine has shown that the antibiotic doxycycline, when added to standard treatment in laboratory models of Central Nervous System Tuberculosis (CNS-TB), helped suppress inflammatory responses linked to brain damage and improved survival and neurological outcomes in preclinical tests.

• Mechanism: The research found that doxycycline reduced levels of tissue-damaging matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which are associated with severe CNS-TB pathology.
• Clinical Development: The findings have supported the transition to an ongoing Phase II clinical trial in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia to evaluate whether adjunctive doxycycline can safely improve treatment outcomes.

This summary is based on a press release issued by NUS Medicine.