[NetBehaviour] MIT finds cure for fear

[mez breeze]

MIT finds cure for fear
Submitted by Vidura Panditaratne on Sun, 2007-07-15 19:37.


"MIT biochemists have identified a molecular mechanism behind fear,
and successfully cured it in mice, according to an article in the
journal Nature Neuroscience.

Researchers from MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory hope
that their work could lead to the first drug to treat the millions of
adults who suffer each year from persistent, debilitating fears -
including hundreds of soldiers returning from conflict in Iraq and
Afghanistan.

Inhibiting a kinase, an enzyme that change proteins, called Cdk5
facilitates the extinction of fear learned in a particular context,
Li-Huei Tsai, Picower Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of
Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and colleagues showed.

Conversely, the learned fear persisted when the kinase's activity was
increased in the hippocampus, the brain's center for storing memories,
the scientists found.

Cdk5, paired with the protein p35, helps new brain cells, or neurons,
form and migrate to their correct positions during early brain
development, and the MIT researchers looked at how Cdk5 affects the
ability to form and eliminate fear-related memories.

"Remarkably, inhibiting Cdk5 facilitated extinction of learned fear in
mice," Tsai said. "This data points to a promising therapeutic avenue
to treat emotional disorders and raises hope for patients suffering
from post-traumatic stress disorder or phobia."

Emotional disorders such as post-traumatic stress and panic attacks
stem from the inability of the brain to stop experiencing the fear
associated with a specific incident or series of incidents.

For some people, upsetting memories of traumatic events do not go away
on their own, or may even get worse over time, severely affecting
their lives.

A study conducted by the Army in 2004 found that one in eight soldiers
returning from Iraq reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD)."

http://pressesc.com/01184528191_cure_for_fear



-- 
: mmo.[s]tabbings.ripple+sh[ape.avian.l]ift :
: http://netwurker.livejournal.com
: http://disapposable.blogspot.com/
: http://twitter.com/netwurker