Chronic oral administration of minocycline to sheep with ovine CLN6 neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis maintains pharmacological concentrations in the brain but does not suppress neuroinflammation or…

Graham W Kay, David N Palmer

The neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs; or Batten disease) are fatal inherited human neurodegenerative diseases affecting an estimated 1:12,500 live births worldwide. They are caused by mutations in at least 11 different genes. Currently, there are no effective treatments. Progress into understanding pathogenesis and possible therapies depends on studying animal models. The most studied animals are the CLN6 South Hampshire sheep, in which the course of neuropathology closely follows that in affected children. Neurodegeneration, a hallmark of the disease, has been linked to neuroinflammation and is consequent to it. Activation of astrocytes and microglia begins prenatally, starting from specific foci associated with the later development of progressive cortical atrophy and the development of clinical symptoms, including the occipital cortex and blindness. Both neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation generalize and become more severe with increasing age and increasing clinical severity. The purpose of this study was to determine if chronic administration of an anti-inflammatory drug, minocycline, from an early age would halt or reverse the development of disease.