2trivia Flashcards
parietal lobe
Damage to the right side of
the parietal lobe can result in difficulty navigating spaces,
even familiar ones. If the left side is injured, the ability to
understand spoken and/or written language may be impaired.
spinal cord length
about 17 inches (43
cm) long
axon length
range in length from a tiny fraction of an inch (or centimeter)
to three feet (about one meter) or more
neuron number
The
mammalian brain contains between 100 million and 100
billion neurons, depending on the species.
glia number
The brain contains at least ten times more glia than
neurons.
ACh
acetylcholine, the first neurotransmitter to be identified, about 80 years ago
myasthenia gravis cause
Antibodies that block one
type of ACh receptor cause myasthenia gravis. The immune system attacks the junctions where
nerves connect with muscles
ACh and dementia
Because
ACh-releasing neurons die in Alzheimer’s patients, finding
ways to restore this neurotransmitter is a goal of current
research. Drugs that inhibit acetylcholinesterase — and
increase ACh in the brain — are presently the main drugs
used to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
GABA (and disease)
The activity of GABA is increased by
benzodiazepines (e.g., valium) and by anticonvulsant drugs.
In Huntington’s disease, a hereditary disorder that begins
during midlife, the GABA-producing neurons in brain
centers that coordinate movement degenerate, causing
uncontrollable movements.
NMDA receptor stimulation
The stimulation of NMDA receptors may promote
beneficial changes in the brain, whereas overstimulation can
cause nerve cell damage or cell death. This is what happens
as a result of trauma and during a stroke.
NMDA and medicine
Developing
drugs that block or stimulate activity at NMDA receptors
holds promise for improving brain function and treating
neurological and psychiatric disorders.
catecholamines
The term catecholamines includes
the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine.
dopamine is present in __ principal circuits in the brain:
3;
movement – Parkinson’s
cognition and emotion – schizophrenia
regulation of endocrine system
dopamine and Parkinson’s
The dopamine
circuit that regulates movement has been directly linked
to disease. Due to dopamine deficits in the brain, people
with Parkinson’s disease show such symptoms as muscle
tremors, rigidity, and difficulty in moving. Administration of
levodopa, a substance from which dopamine is synthesized,
is an effective treatment for Parkinson’s, allowing patients to
walk and perform skilled movements more successfully
dopamine and mental illness
Another dopamine circuit is thought to be important for
cognition and emotion; abnormalities in this system have been
implicated in schizophrenia. Because drugs that block certain
dopamine receptors in the brain are helpful in diminishing
psychotic symptoms, learning more about dopamine is
important to understanding mental illness.
dopamine and the endocrine system
In a third circuit,
dopamine regulates the endocrine system. Dopamine directs
the hypothalamus to manufacture hormones and hold them in
the pituitary gland for release into the bloodstream or to trigger
the release of hormones held within cells in the pituitary.
Korsakoff’s syndrome
a cognitive disorder associated with chronic
alcoholism. patients have deficiencies in norepinephrine
norpenephrine and disease
Deficiencies in norepinephrine occur in patients with
Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Korsakoff’s
syndrome. These conditions all lead to memory loss and a
decline in cognitive functioning. Thus, researchers believe
that norepinephrine may play a role in both learning and
memory.
norpinephrine release
Norepinephrine is also secreted by the sympathetic
nervous system throughout the body to regulate heart
rate and blood pressure. Acute stress increases release of
norepinephrine from sympathetic nerves and the adrenal
medulla, the innermost part of the adrenal gland.
serotonin and medicine
Because serotonin controls different
switches affecting various emotional states, scientists believe
these switches can be manipulated by analogs, chemicals
with molecular structures similar to that of serotonin. Drugs
that alter serotonin’s action, such as fluoxetine, relieve
symptoms of depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
substance P
Some sensory
nerves — tiny unmyelinated C fibers — contain a peptide
called substance P, which causes the sensation of burning
pain. The active component of chili peppers, capsaicin,
causes the release of substance P, something people should be
aware of before eating them
discovery of opioid peptides
In
1973, scientists discovered receptors for opiates on neurons
in several regions of the brain, suggesting that the brain must
make substances very similar to opium. Shortly thereafter,
scientists made their first discovery of an opiate peptide
produced by the brain. This chemical resembles morphine,
an opium derivative used medically to kill pain. Scientists
named this substance enkephalin, literally meaning “in
the head.” Soon after, other types of opioid peptides
were discovered. These were named endorphins, meaning
“endogenous morphine.”
FSH and LH in females
In females, these hormones act on
the ovary to stimulate ovulation and promote release of
the ovarian hormones estradiol and progesterone.
FSH and LH in males
In males,
these hormones are carried to receptors on cells in the testes,
where they promote spermatogenesis and release the male
hormone testosterone, an androgen, into the bloodstream.
aspirin
Aspirin reduces a fever and lowers pain
by inhibiting the cyclooxygenase enzyme.
second messenger effects
Second messenger effects may endure for a few milliseconds
to as long as many minutes. They also may be responsible for
long-term changes in the nervous system.
The intricate communication systems in the brain and
the nervous system begin to develop __
about three weeks after
gestation.
H.M.
A major breakthrough in understanding how the
brain accomplishes learning and memory began with the
study of a person known by his initials, H.M. As a child,
H.M. developed a severe, difficult-to-treat form of epilepsy.
When traditional therapies didn’t help, H.M. underwent
an experimental surgical treatment — the removal of the
medial regions of his temporal lobes. The surgery worked in
that it greatly alleviated the seizures, but it left H.M. with
severe amnesia. He could remember recent events for only
a few minutes and was unable to form explicit memories of
new experiences. For example, after talking with him for a
while and then leaving the room, upon returning, it would
be clear that H.M. had no recollection of the exchange.
Despite his inability to remember new information,
H.M. remembered his childhood very well.
what did researchers learn from H.M.?
researchers concluded that the
parts of H.M.’s medial temporal lobe that were removed,
including the hippocampus and parahippocampal region,
played critical roles in converting short-term memories of
experiences to long-term, permanent ones. Because H.M.
retained some memories of events that occurred long before
his surgery, it appeared that the medial temporal region was
not the site of permanent storage but instead played a role
in the organization and permanent storage of memories
elsewhere in the brain.
ASD
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by
impaired social skills; verbal and nonverbal communication
difficulties; and narrow, obsessive interests or repetitive
behaviors.
ASD rate
One of
every 110 babies born in the United States, approximately
40,000 new cases each year, is diagnosed with ASD, an
incidence far greater than in the 1970s.
there
is currently no single genetic or biochemical biomarker
specifically for autism, because no single gene mutation or
biological change will predict the disorder. Therefore, at this
time, there is no way to determine if a newborn child is at risk
for autism
read
ADHD numbers
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was
first described more than 100 years ago.
ADHD affects an estimated 5 to 8 percent of school-age
children. Studies show that as many as 60 percent of these
children will continue to experience ADHD symptoms
as adults.
ADHD symptoms
Symptoms of ADHD appear by middle childhood, last
for six months or longer, and impair normal functioning to a
significant degree
ADHD treatment
ADHD is commonly treated with parent education,
school-based interventions, and medications such as stimulants
(e.g., methylphenidate) and newer, nonstimulant drugs.
ADHD and the brain
Increasingly, studies are finding correlations between ADHD
and differences in brain function. Altered activity is often
observed in circuits connecting the cortex, the striatum, and the
cerebellum, particularly in the right hemisphere. Recent studies
show a delay in cortical development in some children with
ADHD, although most individuals with ADHD do not outgrow
the disorder as they mature.
ADHD and maturation
most individuals with ADHD do not outgrow
the disorder as they mature. Rather, their symptoms often
change as they grow older, with less hyperactivity as adults.
Problems with attention tend to continue into adulthood.
ADHD and genes
Twin and family studies show that ADHD has a strong
genetic influence, and genes encoding components of dopamine
and norepinephrine transmission have been implicated. Recent imaging studies have shown reduced
catecholamine transmission in at least some patients with
this disorder. Because prefrontal circuits require an optimal
level of catecholamine stimulation, reduced catecholamine
transmission could lead to weakened prefrontal cortical
regulation of attention and behavior and symptoms of ADHD.
prenatal diagnoses of Down syndrome
Prenatal screening tests, such as the
triple and quadruple screen blood tests, can accurately detect
Down syndrome in about 70 percent of fetuses. Definitive
prenatal diagnoses can be obtained with either chorionic villus
sampling or amniocentesis.
genetic basis of Down syndrome
It typically
occurs when, at the time of conception, an extra copy of
chromosome 21 — or part of its long arm — is present in the
egg or, less commonly, in the sperm. It is not known why this
error occurs, and it has not been linked to any environmental
or behavioral factors, either before or during pregnancy
Down syndrome rate
Down syndrome, the most frequently occurring
chromosomal condition, appears in 1 of every 691 babies, or
about 6,000 babies annually in the United States.
Down syndrome and moms
At
age 25, the risk is about 1 in 1,250 births; at age 40, it is 1 in
100. Because of higher fertility rates in younger women, 80
percent of children with Down syndrome are born to women
under 35 years of age.
Down syndrome is associated with approximately __
physical and developmental characteristics.
50
Down syndrome: physical characteristics
low muscle tone; an upward slant to the eyes; a flat facial profile;
an enlarged tongue
Down syndrome: health characteristics
increased risk of congenital heart
defects, respiratory problems, and digestive tract obstruction.
Down syndrome and aging
By age 40, nearly all people with Down syndrome show some
neurological changes similar to those seen in Alzheimer’s
disease, and most show cognitive decline by age 60.
An estimated __ of children in the United
States have some form of learning disability involving
difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking,
reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities.
8 - 10 percent
dyslexia rate
Dyslexia, a specific reading disability, is the most common
and most carefully studied of the learning disabilities. It affects
80 percent of all those identified as learning disabled, or as many
as 15 to 20 percent of Americans.
There is now a strong consensus that the central
difficulty in most forms of dyslexia reflects
a deficit within
the language system — more specifically, in a component
of the language system called phonology
dyslexia and brain imaging
Converging
evidence derived from functional brain imaging indicates
that dyslexic readers demonstrate a functional inefficiency
in an extensive neural system in the posterior portion of the
brain. The brain images that result from these studies are
referred to as the neural signature of dyslexia.
dyslexia and brain regions
A range of investigations indicates that there
are differences in brain regions between dyslexic and
nonimpaired readers involving three important left
hemisphere neural systems, two posteriorly (parietotemporal,
occipito-temporal) and one anteriorly around
the left inferior frontal region (Broca’s area).
dyslexia and genetics
It is clear that dyslexia runs in families, but initial hopes
that dyslexia would be explained by one or just a few genes
have not been realized. Current
evidence suggests that dyslexia is best conceptualized within a
multifactorial model, with multiple genetic and environmental
risk and protective factors leading to dyslexia.
GWAS
Genome-wide association studies
(GWAS) in dyslexia have so far identified genetic variants
that account for only a very small percentage of the risk — less
than 1 percent — making it unlikely that a single gene or
even a few genes will identify people with dyslexia.
dyslexia treatment
Interventions to help children with dyslexia focus on
teaching the child that words can be segmented into smaller
units of sound and that these sounds are linked with specific
letter patterns. In addition, children with dyslexia require
practice in reading stories.
drug abuse rate, cost
Drug abuse is one of the nation’s most serious health
problems. About 9 percent of Americans, more than 22
million people, abuse drugs on a regular basis. Drug abuse,
including alcohol and nicotine, is estimated to cost the
United States more than $600 billion each year.
nicotine numbers, cost, [most]
In 2009, more than 70 million Americans smoked. In fact,
tobacco kills more than 440,000 U.S. citizens each year. Tobacco use is the leading
preventable cause of death in the United States. The overall
cost of smoking in the United States is estimated to be
$193 billion each year.
newer treatments for nicotine adidction
bupropion, varenicline
bupropion
The first non-nicotine prescription drug, bupropion,
an antidepressant, has been approved for use as a
pharmacological treatment for nicotine addiction.
varenicline
An
exciting advance is the use of varenicline for smoking
cessation. This medication interacts directly with the acetylcholine nicotinic receptor in a key part of the brain’s
reward circuitry and prevents nicotine from activating this
circuit.
alcohol and the liver
Cirrhosis, or scarring of
the liver, is the main chronic health problem associated
with alcohol addiction. Other chronic liver diseases are
responsible for more than 29,000 deaths each year.
alcohol and genetics
It is clear that genetic and
environmental factors contribute to alcoholism, but at this
point, no single factor or combination of factors enables
doctors to predict who will develop an addiction to alcohol.
alcohol numbers, cost, [most]
Nearly17.6 million people abuse alcohol or are alcoholic.
Fetal alcohol syndrome, affecting about 1 to 3 of every 1,000
babies born in the United States, is the leading preventable
cause of mental retardation. The
annual cost of alcohol abuse and addiction is estimated at
$185 billion.
alcohol medication
Earlier, a medication called naltrexone had been developed
for heroin addiction, which also affects the opioid system. Naltrexone works by blocking opioid receptors. Researchers
thought that this medication might be effective for
alcoholics as well.
naltrexone use
Clinical trials began in 1983, and in 1995,
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved
naltrexone for the treatment of alcoholism.
endocannabinoids and medication
Scientists recently discovered that cannabinoid
receptors normally bind to natural internal chemicals termed
endocannabinoids, one of which is called anandamide. A
large effort is now being made to develop medications that
target the endogenous, or internal, cannabinoid system.
The hope is that these medications will prove beneficial
in treating a number of different brain disorders, including
addiction, anxiety, and depression.
opiate addiction medication number
Buprenorphine
has been prescribed for more than 500,000 patients in the
United States.
psychostimulant use numbers
In 2009, in the United States, an estimated 4.8 million
people age 12 and older had abused cocaine.
date-rape drugs
Rohypnol, GHB, and ketamine are predominantly
central nervous system depressants. often colorless, tasteless, odorless; added easily to drinks
Alzheimer’s rate
Rare before age 60 but increasingly prevalent in
each decade thereafter, Alzheimer’s affects 5 percent of
Americans age 65 to 74 and nearly half of those age 85 and
older. As many as 5.3 million Americans have Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s prediction
The disease is predicted to affect approximately 14 million
individuals in the United States by the year 2050.
Alzheimer’s rank
seventh leading cause
of death in the United States and the fifth leading cause of
death for Americans aged 65 and older
Alzheimer’s and genetics
Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease is a rare, dominantly
inherited form of the disease. Recently, scientists have
identified Alzheimer’s disease-associated mutations. The
gene encoding the amyloid precursor protein (APP) is
on chromosome 21. In some families with early-onset
Alzheimer’s, mutations have been identified in the presenilin
1 and 2 genes.
Alzheimer’s medication
Five drugs
have been approved by the FDA to treat Alzheimer’s. Four
prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, a brain chemical
important for memory and thinking. (nerves cells utilising the chemical transmitter
acetylcholine are particularly vulnerable to attack in Alzheimer’s) The fifth regulates
glutamate, a brain chemical that may cause brain cell death
when produced in large amounts.
future Alzheimer’s medication
Several
other approaches, such as antioxidants, are being tested.
ALS cost
The costs of both care and treatment for
ALS are expensive, and they continue to rise as the disease
progresses. In the final stages, ALS can cost as much as
$200,000 a year per family, and costs Americans some $300
million annually.
ALS number
This progressive disorder strikes approximately
5,600 Americans annually, with an average survival time
of just two to five years from symptom onset. It is the most
common disorder within a group of diseases affecting motor
neurons. Typically, 30,000 Americans have the disease at
any given time.
ALS medication
An anti-glutamate drug slows
the disease’s progression modestly.
ALS and genetics
Scientists have now identified several genes that are
responsible for some forms of ALS. The most common and
well-studied of these are mutations in the gene that codes
for superoxide dismutase, a defense against oxidative distress.
ALS detection
No specific test identifies ALS, but electrical tests of
muscle activity, muscle biopsies, blood studies, computed
tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
scans help diagnose the disease and rule out other disorders.
ALS causes
- > 90 percent of the time, it’s sporadic; Potential causes or contributors to the disease
include an excess amount of the neurotransmitter glutamate,
which becomes toxic; oxygen in a dangerous form in
the body, resulting in what is called oxidative distress;
environmental factors; and an autoimmune response in
which the body’s defenses turn against body tissue. - In the
other 5 to 10 percent of cases, ALS is familial — transmitted
to family members because of a gene defect.
first signs of ALS
usually seen
in the hands and feet or in the muscles of speech and
swallowing
ALS death
usually caused by
respiratory failure or pneumonia.
Huntington’s numbers
Affecting some 30,000 Americans and placing 200,000
more Americans at risk for inheriting the disease from an
affected parent, Huntington’s disease is now considered one
of the most common hereditary brain disorders.
Huntington’s progression
progresses slowly over 10 - 20 yr period and appears btwn the ages of 30 and 50
Huntington’s symptoms
The most recognizable symptoms include involuntary
jerking movements of the limbs, torso, and facial muscles.
These are often accompanied by mood swings, depression,
irritability, slurred speech, and clumsiness. As the disease
progresses, common symptoms include difficulty swallowing,
unsteady gait, loss of balance, impaired reasoning, and
memory problems.
Huntington’s and genetics
gene that causes it was identified in 1993. The Huntington’s disease mutation is an expanded
triplet repeat — a kind of molecular stutter in the DNA.
This abnormal gene codes for an abnormal version of the
protein called huntingtin. The huntingtin protein, whose
normal function is still unknown, is widely distributed in the brain and appears to be associated with proteins involved
in transcription (turning genes on), protein turnover, and
energy production. Scientists suspect that Huntington’s
disease is caused by the gain of a new and toxic function
among these proteins
Parkinson’s causes
Typically, people start showing symptoms over
the age of 50. In fact, aging is the only known risk factor for
the development of this disorder. Although the cause of Parkinson’s remains unknown,
most researchers believe that there are both genetic and
environmental factors that contribute to the injury and
eventual loss of these dopamine-producing cells. While
most cases of Parkinson’s do not appear to be inherited,
there are certain situations in which genetic factors may be
involved.
Parkinson’s numbers
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder
that affects approximately 1.5 million individuals in the
United States.
Parkinson’s on a cellular level
Parkinson’s disease is the result of
the loss of dopamine-producing cells in the region of the
brain called the substantia nigra pars compacta, found in the
midbrain. A large number, 40 percent, of cells must be lost
before symptoms occur, suggesting that perhaps the brain has
a way of warding off symptoms. Eventually, however, these
mechanisms begin to fail, or the continued loss of cells leads
to a threshold from which the brain can no longer recover.
Parkinson’s symptoms/effects/characteristics
Parkinson’s disease is characterized by slowness of
movement, muscular rigidity, and walking and balance
impairment. Many affected individuals may develop a
resting tremor as well. Besides impairment in motor
movement, Parkinson’s may also cause changes in non-motor
brain function.
Parkinson’s medication
The discovery in the late 1950s that the
level of dopamine was decreased in the brains of Parkinson’s
patients was followed in the 1960s by successful treatment
with the drug levodopa, which is converted to dopamine in
the brain. This historical event is one of the greatest medical
breakthroughs in the field of neurology. a
drug called carbidopa is often combined with levodopa; the
combination is effective in that it reduces the breakdown
of levodopa in the bloodstream, allowing greater levels of
dopamine to reach the brain. It also reduces side effects, such
as nausea.
Parkinson’s medication weaknesses
dopamine replacement therapy
neither cures the disease nor slows its progression. In
addition, dopamine replacement is not optimal for treating
non-motor aspects of the disease, such as anxiety and sleep
issues. What’s more, this treatment becomes less effective
over time in helping with gait and balance problems.
Huntingont’s and brain regions
It affects both the basal ganglia, which
controls coordination, and the brain cortex, which serves as
the center for thought, perception, and memory.
MPTP
One common rodent and nonhuman primate model
uses the neurotoxin MPTP, first discovered in the late
1970s, when it was accidentally synthesized by designers
of illicit drugs looking for ways to produce a heroin-like
compound. The drug addicts who self-injected the MPTPcontaminated
preparations developed a neurological
condition that was indistinguishable from Parkinson’s.
Researchers soon found that MPTP is converted in the brain
to a substance that destroys dopamine neurons. This finding
led to using MPTP as a tool for medical studies.
future Parkinson’s treatments
- surgically implanting cells, such as fetal cells, that are capable of producing dopamine
- replacement therapy w/ stem cells is being explored
- gene transfer of trophic factors is in clinical trials
- gene therapy in clinical trials
current newer Parkinson’s treatments
- past decade has witnessed a resurgence in pallidotomy
- More
recently, chronic deep-brain stimulation has been
used. These techniques are highly successful for
treating patients who have experienced significant
worsening of symptoms and are troubled by the
development of drug-related involuntary movements.
anxiety disorders numbers
Considered the most common mental illnesses,
anxiety disorders affect an estimated 18 percent of the
adult population in a given year, or 40 million Americans.
OCD medication
- the serotonergic antidepressant
clomipramine, which was the first effective treatment
developed for people with OCD - other serotonergic
antidepressants, as well as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
(SSRIs) such as sertraline and paroxetine, are effective in
treating OCD.
other OCD treatment
A specialized type of behavioral intervention,
called exposure and response prevention, also is effective in
many patients
OCD in animals
Scientists have
recently discovered that certain breeds of large dogs develop
acral lick syndrome, severely sore paws from compulsive
licking. These dogs respond well to clomipramine
OCD and brain imaging
Positron emission tomography (PET) scans reveal abnormalities
in both cortical and deep areas of the brain, implicating central
nervous system changes in individuals with OCD.
OCD causes
Neuroscientists think that environmental factors and
genetics probably play a role in the development of the disorder.
OCD and maturation
One-third of
adults develop their symptoms as children.
OCD number
The illness is estimated to
affect 2.2 million American adults annually.
panic disorder rate
a lifetime
prevalence rate of 4.7 percent in the United States
panic disorder treatment
Antidepressants, including SSRIs, are effective, as
is cognitive behavioral therapy.
phobia treatment
Cognitive behavioral therapy
is an effective treatment.
phobias on a cellular level
It is likely that panic disorders and
phobias have similar neurochemical underpinnings that emerge
as the result of a particular “stressor.”
panic disorders on a cellular level
It is likely that panic disorders and
phobias have similar neurochemical underpinnings that emerge
as the result of a particular “stressor.”
PTSD rate
lifetime prevalence rate of 6.8 percent (9.7 percent in women
and 1.8 percent in men)
PTSD medication
The alpha-1 blocker prazosin, a drug used to lower
blood pressure for more than 20 years, is now used to treat
nightmares experienced with PTSD. People treated with
prazosin include those with a very long-standing illness, such
as Holocaust survivors. Beta-blockers such as propranolol also
are being tested in individuals exposed to trauma, but these
agents must be administered shortly after the trauma, before
PTSD has been established, which brings up complex ethical
issues. PTSD also is treated with antidepressant and atypical
antipsychotic medications
other PTSD treatment
PTSD also is treated with antidepressant and atypical
antipsychotic psychotherapies, such as
cognitive behavioral therapy or eye movement desensitization
and reprocessing therapy.
PTSD on a cellular level
Scientists have studied PTSD in depth and have learned
that the very high levels of norepinephrine released in the
brain during stress remain at heightened levels. Medications
that work well for patients with PTSD have emerged from
basic research into norepinephrine’s actions in different brain
regions.
endogenous antianxiety
The discovery of brain receptors for the benzodiazepine
antianxiety drugs has sparked research to identify the brain’s
own antianxiety chemical messengers. Benzodiazepines bind to
GABA receptors and enhance responsiveness to endogenous
GABA, the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain.
Indeed, recent studies have revealed alterations in certain
GABA receptors in the central nervous system of patients with
PTSD, effectively providing an additional neurochemical link
between different anxiety disorders. This finding may lead to
new ways to modulate anxiety disorders.
Tourette and genetics
One of the most common and least understood
neurobiological disorders, Tourette syndrome is an inherited
disorder that affects about 200,000 Americans. Males are
affected three to four times as often as females.
Tourette numbers
The symptoms include motor and vocal tics — repetitive, involuntary movements or utterances that are rapid, sudden
and persist for more than one year. The types of tics may
change frequently and increase or decrease in severity over
time.
Tourette complications
A high percentage
of people with Tourette syndrome also have associated
conditions, such as problems with learning, difficulties with
attention, obsessive thoughts and compulsive rituals. Often
these manifestations are more troublesome to individuals than
the tics themselves, so physicians must consider them when
choosing a treatment regimen.
Tourette and maturation
In roughly one-half of individuals, this disorder lasts a
lifetime, but the remaining patients may experience a remission
or decrease in symptoms as they get older. Symptoms usually appear between the ages of four and
eight, but in rare cases may emerge in the late teenage years.
Tourette non medication treatment
Behavioral
therapies, such as those used to treat similar disorders that
emerge in childhood, have been receiving more attention.
Aimed at training circuits to control the specific behavior
related to the tic, these therapies have proven to be highly effective in reducing the severity of tics in some subtypes
of Tourette syndrome. Psychotherapy and counseling can
assist people with this disorder, as well as providing coping
mechanisms for family members.
Tourette medication
The majority of people with Tourette syndrome are not
significantly disabled by symptoms, so they do not require
medication. However, antipsychotics and SSRIs, as well as
drugs to control tics, nausea, high blood pressure, seizures,
or anxiety, are available to help control symptoms when
they interfere with functioning. Stimulant medications such
as methylphenidate and dextroamphetamine, which are
prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),
have been reported to improve attention and decrease tics
in Tourette syndrome.
depressed individuals’ response to treatment
80 percent of these individuals respond to drugs,
psychotherapy, or a combination of the two. Some severely
depressed patients can be helped with electroconvulsive
therapy / deep brain stimulation approaches (originally developed for patients w/ neurodegenerative disease)
date rape drug and depression
Recently, ketamine, a drug that blocks NMDA glutamate
receptors, has been shown to alleviate depressed symptoms
rapidly. Because ketamine has many side effects, it is not likely
to be used clinically, but these findings have set off an exciting
search for new pharmacologic approaches.
