Worms help in searchings for epilepsy treatment!

In my searching for an article for my blog post, I stumbled over the article about how worms can be a new epilepsi treatment on physorg.com. I found the title entertaining and kinda gross, and decided to take a look.

The article writes about how scientists from The University of Alabama used worms to search for special information that could lead to an understanding of cellular mechanisms that can be used to treat epilepsy. In their research, the scientists explain how a transparent roundworm, also called a C. elegan, made them identify molecular switches that controls transportations of a molecule named gamma-aminobutyric acid.
A scientist by the name of Guy A. Caldwell said the following:

"It is our hope that this work serves to accelerate the
path toward the identification of genetic factors that cause a susceptibility to
epilepsy"

The researchers made experiments that contained drugs, they knew would affect neuronal activity, because it would create DNA mutations in both humans and C. elegans. The canges led to repetitive cramps, that could be compared to those humans experience in epilepsy.
Scientist Mark Johnston stated in the article:

"Although much more work must be done before new drugs can be developed for
people, these findings could offer hope to people with this devastating and
frustrating condition, it may be hard to believe, but the cellular processes
that occur in these worms are likely to be similar to those in humans. This work
has the potential to significantly advance our understanding of what causes
seizures in people, and could point the way to a remedy."

I hope you find the post a little useful, or just interesting, I mean - worms can help people with epilepsy, and make life a lot easier.. That is according to me interesting... and weird!

Mutations causes inherited neuropathy

In my searching for an article, the one about how mutations causes inherited neuropathy at 'Physorg.com' caught my interest. The article states following:

Mutations in a protein called dynein, required for the proper
functioning of sensory nerve cells, can cause defects in mice that may provide
crucial clues leading to better treatments for a human nerve disorder known as
peripheral neuropathy, which affects about three percent of all those over age
60

On the December 26th, researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center discovered that mice with mutations - with only one copy of a genecoding of dynein protein have many defects in the ability to perceive the spatial orientation of body parts.
The defects caused a reduction of sensory nerve cells, and therefor the ability to use many body parts. All this could be matched to humans.
Peripheral neuropathy symptoms can be pain in the hands and arms, legs and feet, and progressive weakness in the arms and legs.

This is a step closer to help preventing many diseases caused by damages in the nervous system, like sclerosis and the Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
I hope that this article can help you all a little bit with our related topic in anatomy, the nervous system. I found it very usefull.