According to World Health Organization, alcohol consumption in the world has become a public health problem. In this context, Brazil is at 63th position in the world in per capita alcohol consumption for people aged 15 or older. In addition to its socio-economic effects, ethanol is an important risk factor in the occurrence of cerebral ischemia. Exacerbated consumption of this drug contributes to the poor prognosis, as well as possible treatment for health problems related to stroke. The objective of this study was to evaluate neuromotor changes after blocking micróglial activation with minocycline in rats subjected to focal ischemia in the motor cortex, when treated chronically with ethanol from adolescence to adulthood. Rats were given for 55 days by gavage ethanol (6.5 g/kg/dia, 22.5 w/v). At the end of 55 days the animals were microinjected with the vasoconstrictor peptide endothelin-1 (40 pmol) for induction of focal ischemic lesion. The ischemic animals were treated with minocycline receiving two daily doses of 50 mg/kg in the first two days, and five daily applications of single 25mg/kg, intraperitoneally, by the seventh day post-ischemic induction. Behavioral tests consisted of open field, inclined plane and rota-rod. The results showed that the animals were exposed to ethanol showed motor deficits in all behavioral tests. However, treatment with minocycline was able to reverse them, enabling better performance on all tests. The results suggest that minocycline was able to reverse damage caused by motors stroke, even in the presence of ethanol. The exact mechanism involved in this process need to be investigated in future research.
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