New discovery could help treat epilepsy

New discovery could help treat epilepsy

By Roger Highfield, Science Editor

Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 10/03/2008

Drugs that could treat pre menstrual tension and epilepsy are two of the long term possibilities raised by a discovery reported today.

 

The discovery could help scientists develop drugs to treat epilepsy

An international team has found the molecular structure of a kind of switch in the brain implicated in these diverse conditions.

Called a receptor, the protein is also highly sensitive to alcohol, showing the effects of social drinking, and might account for some of the effects of getting tipsy too.

New insights into PMT and epilepsy, including understanding the cause and developing treatments, will arise from the use of a special microscope to study an important receptor in the brain, where a messenger chemical called GABA acts to sends signals.

With this understanding, scientists may now be able to develop drugs to block or stimulate them, providing hope for sufferers of the conditions.