THE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE with which I was ultimately diagnosed, anti-NMDA-receptor encephalitis, varies wildly in its presentation. For most people, it begins with flu-like symptoms, though it's unclear if patients initially contract a virus related to the disease or if these early symptoms are a result of the disease. Typically, about two weeks after onset, psychiatric problems--such as paranoia, insomnia, mania, and grandiose delusions--take hold, so most patients seek out mental health professionals. Seizures occur in 75 percent of patients, which is fortunate if only because this gets them to a neurologist. Next, language and memory deficits arise. NMDA receptors are vital to learning, memory, and behavior. Located on neurons all over the brain, they receive instructions from neurotransmitters, either exciting a cell, encouraging it to fire an electrical impulse, or inhibiting it. These neuronal conversations are at the root of everything we do. …show more content…
NMDA-receptor-seeking antibodies handicap a neuron's receptors so that they're unable to send and receive signals. When NMDA receptors are compromised, the outcome can be disastrous. A decrease in NMDA receptors of, say, 40 percent might result in psychosis; if they drop by 70 percent, it might cause catatonia. By the time I was a patient at NYU, University of Pennsylvania neuro-oncologist Joseph Dalmau--who, in a 2007 paper, introduced anti-NMDA-receptor encephalitis to the world--had designed two quick diagnostic tests for the illness. After he received samples of my spinal fluid, I became the 217th person to test positive (today that number is in the thousands). By then, I had already entered catatonia, the height of the disease, which precedes breathing failure, coma, and sometimes death. The doctors caught it just in
Chemistry of Psilocybin and Synaptic Transmitters Involved Psilocybin is a type of hallucinogenic mushroom that is ingested by eating the raw fungi. The mushroom can also be made into a tea and drunk. In some of the later studies done on psilocybin, the drug was synthetically produced and then either inhaled or injected by an IV. The drug enters the blood stream and can cross the blood brain barrier because of it relative metabolic similarity to serotonin (Fuller 1985). This means that since psilocybin is chemical resemblance to the neurotransmitter serotonin, psilocybin can trick the protein channels embedded in the membrane of the blood vessel and pass through as if it were serotonin and not a drug.
Briefly explain the process of neurotransmission. Neurotransmission starts with the neuron, the most important part of the central nervous system. A neuron contains a cell body, axon, and dendrites. When a neuron receives an electrical impulse, the impulse travels away from the cell body down the axon. The axon breaks off into axon terminals. At the axon terminals, the electrical impulse creates a neurotransmitter. The neurotransmitter is released into the synapse, a space between two neurons. If the neurotransmitter tries to stimulate a response of another neuron, it is an excitatory neurotransmitter. If the neurotransmitter does not stimulate a response of another neuron it is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. If a response is generated, the second neuron or postsynaptic neuron will receive an action potential at the site of the dendrite and the communication process will continue on. If a response is not generated, neurotransmitters left in the synapse will be absorbed by the first neuron or presynaptic neuron, a process known as reuptake. Neurotransmitters control our body functions, emotions, and
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease affecting the myelination of the central nervous system, leading to numerous issues regarding muscle strength, coordination, balance, sensation, vision, and even some cognitive defects. Unfortunately, the etiology of MS is not known, however, it is generally thought of and accepted as being an autoimmune disorder inside of the central nervous system (Rietberg, et al. 2004). According to a study (Noonan, et al. 2010) on the prevalence of MS, the disease affects more than 1 million people across the world, and approximately 85% of those that are affected will suffer from unpredictably occurring sessions of exacerbations and remissions. The report (Noonan, et al. 2010) found that the prevalence of MS was much higher in women than in men, and that it was also higher in non-Hispanic whites than in other racial or ethnic groups throughout the 3 regions of the United States that were studied.
...ions, deep brain stimulation and therapies, doctors are prepared to help the patient prepare for the road ahead (“Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research). Although researchers are working hard to find a cure, the future for patients with this disease is not bright. We can only hope that one day there will be a discovery to help those suffering from this disease.
Dopamine sends signals to other nerve cells in the brain, which regulates movement, motivation, emotion, and feelings of pleasure.
Rocha, J. A., Reis, C., Simoes, F., Fonseca, J., & Mendes Ribeiro, J. (2005). Diagnostic investigation and multidisciplinary management in motor neuron disease. Journal of Neurology, 252(12), 1435–1447.
ALD has many different symptoms; some of the symptoms can be triggered as early as two years or as late as twelve but, the normal symptoms start between the ages of 4 to 10 and can include change in muscle tone, crossed eyes, decreased understanding of verbal communication, detoration of hand writing, difficulty at school, difficulty understanding spoken material, hearing loss, hyperactivity, progressive nervous system detoration, coma, decreased fine motor skills, seizures, and visual impairment or blindness(Lohr, DR. John T). If you recognize or detect any of these symptoms in your child you should immediately take them...
...he National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The research is being done in laboratories at the National Institutes of Health. The purpose of this research is to find the cause or causes of ALS, understand the mechanisms involved in the progression of the disease, and develop effective treatments. Other research is being done by scientists to create biomarkers for ALS that could serve as tools for making a diagnosis. These biomarkers could potentially be taken from spinal fluid, the brain or spinal cord, or an electrophysiological measure of nerve and muscle ability to process an electrical signal.
According to National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. The central nervous system (CNS) comprises of the brain and the spinal cord. CNS is coated and protected by myelin sheath that is made of fatty tissues (Slomski, 2005). The inflammation and damage of the myelin sheath causing it to form a scar (sclerosis). This results in a number of physical and mental symptoms, including weakness, loss of coordination, and loss of speech and vision. The way the disease affect people is always different; some people experience only a single attack and recover quickly, while others condition degenerate over time (Wexler, 2013). Hence, the diagnosis of MS is mostly done by eliminating the symptoms of other diseases. Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects both men and women, but generally, it is more common in women more than men. The disease is most usually diagnosed between ages 20 and 40, however, it can occur at any age. Someone with a family history of the disease is more likely to suffer from it. Although MS is not
Neurotransmitters are chemicals made by neurons and used by them to transmit signals to the other neurons or non-neuronal cells (e.g., skeletal muscle; myocardium, pineal glandular cells) that they innervate. The neurotransmitters produce their effects by being released into synapses when their neuron of origin fires (i.e., becomes depolarized) and then attaching to receptors in the membrane of the post-synaptic cells. This causes changes in the fluxes of particular ions across that membrane, making cells more likely to become depolarized, if the neurotransmitter happens to be excitatory, or less likely if it is inhibitory.
The body’s inflammatory process is facilitated by T-cell and B-cell responses to autoantigens within the CNS. The inflammatory process that happens within the CNS causes declining changes in the brain. Some changes include the axonal loss and immobilizing neurological damages. The remaining damage that transpires is irreversible and permanent in the brain and spinal cord. The symptoms of MS depend on the type and the severity of the disease. If the type and severity of the disease is severe then the symptoms will be more extreme. Some of the more common symptoms that are experienced include sensory symptoms; like numbness, tingling or pain, fatigue, visual disturbances, elimination problems like frequency or urgency and depression. There are many methods to diagnosing MS. There has been an increase in treatment options available and they are continuously testing new drugs yearly.
In Oliver Sacks clinical biography Awakenings, men and women diagnosed with encephalitis lethargica seemed hopeless until 1969 when Dr. Sacks introduces patients to a new drug called L-DOPA. The patients were catatonic; they would display behaviors like stupor or motor rigidity and in some cases would be unable to speak, respond, or move. Patients would be checked out or seem to be in their own world. The drug L-DOPA provides an “awakening” effect and makes an exceptional impact on patients’ physical and cognitive abilities. Sacks explores the lives of these individuals and the phenomenal transformations with this particular treatment. Awakenings provides a passionate and insightful connection between physical health and the human mind.
Neurotransmitters, the chemicals that transmit signals across the synapse of a neuron. Formally used to communicate information throughout the brain and body. With out or even lack of neurotransmitters causes our body to face severe malfunctions. There are a few different types of neurotransmitters that we need in order for our body to function, those include: dopamine, serotonin, epinephrine and many more. Neurotransmitters are extremely crucial when it comes to proper body function, not only that but its vital to understand how our body would malfunction with out them. Looking at The Awakening by Penny Marshall this concept can really be grasped.
The need for updated information about the issues affecting our communities or diseases impacting our health is critical. My research consists of analyzing the functionality, components, and mechanism of the N- Methyl- D- Aspartate receptor (NMDAR), an ionotropic glutamate receptor on nerve cells. Information about the NMDAR is important for understanding the mechanism behind many neurological disorders like epilepsy and developmental delay. Any meaningful research, information, and data gathered about the NMDAR can aid in the discovery of new drugs to better treat these neurological disorders and diseases. In the future, my work along with many others will contribute to the discovery of new drugs that doctors may prescribe to patients with epilepsy. This, in turn, coincides with my vision to be a neurologist so I can serve patients with epilepsy and other neurological disorders. As an undergraduate, I am fortunate to work in a lab that focuses on an interest of mine. Every day I learn more about the brain and an aspect of some neurological disorders as I study mutations of the NMDAR. Also, it is interesting that the recombinant human DNA I experiment with were initially derived from a patient with epilepsy somewhere in the
They used WIstar/ST rats at embryonic day 18. The cells were suspended in Neurobasal medium (Invitrogen) supplemented with 10% bovine serum plated and 24 hours after plating the medium was changed to serum free Neurobasal medium supplemented with 2% B27 (Invitrogen). Electophysioligal recordings were performed after 14-18 days in cultures They used CK2 selective inhibitors 5,6-dichloro-1-β-d-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB) and 4,5,6,7-tetrabromobenzotriazole (TBB) and these inhibited N-methyl-D-aspartate(NMDA) receptor-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP). Selective inhibitors 5,6-dichloro-1-β-d-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole also inhibited NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission, while leaving NMDA receptor-independent LTP unaffected. They concluded that NMDA receptors appear to be the primary targets of CK2 and that CK2 plays a role in the synaptic plasticity and that location specific modification of NMDA receptors modulates synaptic