( Brain activity has been compared to a l...)Light-activated Compound May Be of Help for Epileptics in Future,Health

Brain activity has been compared to a light bulb turning on in the head. Scientists have reversed this notion, creating a drug that stops brain activity// when a light shines on it.

The unexpected result, reported online in Nature Neuroscience, turned several lights on in researchers' heads.

"This is daydreaming at this point, but we might one day combine this drug with a small implanted light to stop seizures," says senior author Steven Mennerick, Ph.D. associate professor of psychiatry and of anatomy and neurobiology. "Some current experimental epilepsy treatments involve the implanting of an electrode, so why not a light?"

The new compound activates the same receptor used by many anesthetics and tranquilizers, making it harder for a brain cell to respond to stimulation. Mennerick and his colleagues tested the drug on cells in culture set up to behave like they were involved in a seizure, with the cells rapidly and repeatedly firing. When they added the new drug and shone a light on the cells, the seizure-like firing pattern calmed.

If the drug is adapted for epilepsy, Mennerick notes, it is most likely to help in cases where seizures consistently originate from the same brain region.

Theoretically, doctors could keep a patient on regular doses of the new drug and implant a small fiber optic light in the dysfunctional region. The light would activate the drug only when seizure-like firing patterns started to appear.

Scientists in the laboratory of Douglas F. Covey, Ph.D., professor of molecular biology and pharmacology, created the drug by linking a steroid known to have anesthetic effects with a molecule, known as NBD, that fluoresces in response to blue light. Mennerick and colleagues were hoping to use the new compound, which they call the NBD-steroid, to trace the steroid's path in the nervous system.

To their initial disappointment, the researchers found that adding the fluore
'"/>




Page: 1 2 3
Related medicine news :

1. Compound of Broccoli combats breast cancer
2. New Compound Could Strengthen The Effect Of Chemotherapy
3. Breathing Cancer Causing Compounds During Pregnancy Found To Affect Offspring
4. Compound from cottonseed for neck and head cancers
5. Compounds Found In The Vegetable Broccoli Could Have Anti-Cancer Properties
6. Adding Sorghum Compounds To Dietary Supplements May Help Lower Cholesterol
7. Compound In Grapes And Red Wine To Counter Alzheimers Disease
8. Sugars Could Contain Key Cancer Inhibiting Compounds
9. Compound From Cyanobacterium Can Fight Alzheimer’
10. Five New Anti-Inflammatory Compounds Produced By Indian Scientists
11. Compounds in Licorice Can Fight Tooth Decay