Minocycline reduces experimental muscle hyperalgesia induced by repeated nerve growth factor injections in humans: A placebo‐controlled double‐blind drug‐crossover study

Background Hyperalgesia is a heightened pain response to a noxious stimulus and is a hallmark of many common neuropathic and chronic pain conditions. In a double‐blind placebo‐controlled drug‐crossover trial, the effects of concomitant and delayed minocycline treatment on the initiation and resolution of muscle hyperalgesia were tested. Methods An initial cohort (n = 10) received repeated injections (5 µg: days 0, 2 and 4) of nerve growth factor (NGF) in the flexor carpi ulnaris muscle of the forearm and pressure pain thresholds were collected at day 0 (control), day 7 (peak) and day 14 (recovery). A second cohort (n = 18) underwent an identical procedure, however, half received a placebo between days 0 and 7 before switching to minocycline from days 7 to 14 (P1/M2), while the remaining subjects received minocycline (day 0: 200mg then 100mg b.i.d. for 7 days) before switching to placebo (M1/P2). Results The initial cohort exhibited a diffuse muscular pain hypersensitivity with a decrease in pressure pain thresholds at day 7 before a partial return to normalcy at day 14. The P1/M2 treatment group exhibited an identical peak in hypersensitivity at day 7, however, after switching to minocycline in week 2 showed a significant reduction in muscle hyperalgesia compared with the initial cohort at day 14. The M1/P2 treatment group had significantly less (~43%) hyperalgesia at day 7 compared with the other groups. Conclusions The study indicates that the administration of minocycline can reduce experimentally induced muscle pain regardless of the time of administration. Significance In a double‐blind placebo‐controlled drug‐crossover study, the common antibiotic minocycline was found to reduce the muscle hyperalgesia induced by intramuscular injection of nerve growth factor. The results of the study showed that both concomitant (pre‐emptive) and delayed administration of minocycline can ameliorate the onset and facilitate the resolution of experimentally induced muscle hyperalgesia.