Investigation of the Effectiveness of Doxycycline on the Improvement of Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in Patients with Ischemic Stroke

Considering the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory drugs can be a potential treatment in these patients. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of doxycycline on the improvement of oxidative stress biomarkers in patients with ischemic stroke.

This clinical trial study was performed on 48 patients with ischemic stroke who had referred to Besat Hospital in Hamadan, Iran, in 2023. They were randomly and equally assigned to the intervention (doxycycline at the rate of 100 mg every 12 hours) and placebo groups for one week. Before and after the intervention, serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), total oxidant status, total antioxidant capacity, c-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were measured.

The study groups had no statistically significant difference in all measured biomarkers in the first 24 h after the stroke (P>0.05). In both study groups, the biomarkers of MDA and total oxidant status decreased after treatment. This decrease was greater in the intervention group, compared to the placebo group with a statistically significant difference. The total antioxidant capacity and GSH increased in both groups, and this increase was more significant in the intervention group, compared to the placebo group. In both groups, serum levels of CRP and ESR decreased, but no statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups.

Addition of doxycycline to the standard treatment of ischemic stroke patients may reduce oxidative stress biomarkers; however, to confirm the results of this study, studies with a larger sample size are needed.