As a part of Epilepsy Awareness Month, I would like to share an interesting article I found:
Solving a century-old neuroscience puzzle may lead to epilepsy therapy
Neurotransmitters, or NTs, are chemicals that neurons synthesize and release, which bind to receptors on adjacent neurons. Excitatory NTs like glutamate will activate neurons (i.e. cause them to “fire”), whereas inhibitory NTs like GABA will prevent neurons from firing. That’s essentially how neurons communicate with each other. If there is too much glutamate, then there will be over-excitation throughout the brain, causing a seizure. The same thing presumably could happen if there is not enough GABA to inhibit neural firing. That’s what the article mentions- the enzyme MMP degrades GABA-ergic neuronal nets, predisposing the epilepsy patient to seizures
According to the article, they are looking into using an enzyme inhibitor to shut off the enzyme that interferes with GABA, but they haven’t found anything specific yet. The article really means that they have an idea of the kind of chemical to research as a possible treatment, not necessarily that they’ve actually found a treatment.
But, just discovering this is a giant step towards finding a cure!
P.S: Thank you Cobi for explaining this to me!
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Published by mariacristinasanfeliu
I’m an aspiring writer still looking for exactly what I want to write about, with a lot of creativity, imagination and desire to write.
I studied Writing and Rhetoric at Syracuse University where I explored many different sides of writing through my classes and extracurricular activities in order to narrow my search for an identity as a writer.
I have written for Citrus TV Noticias and La Voz magazine, both of which gave me the chance to explore different mediums in which to write in. Through Citrus TV Noticias I also gained experience in translating from English to Spanish and vice versa, which is also something that I would be interested in working on since I am fluent in both of these languages. I was also an intern at Syracuse University Press where I got hands on experience in what goes into actually editing and publishing a book.
Through out the last four years I have faced a lot of challenges, which helped chape the person I am today. After being in a tragic car accident, being in comma, having a Traumatic Brain Injury, and being in therapy for over a year, I am a new me, willing to face challenges and knowing how to deal with them. I want to write about my accident and life after it to help others, show them it can be done and help in any way I can.
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