A patient is brought into the emergency room suffering from a seizure. The ER doctor immediately suspects epilepsy, a disorder characterised by abnormally high activity in the brain. An electroencephalograph (EEG) does indeed show that the electrical activity within the patient's brain is extremely high. In order to counter this over-activity within the central nervous system, the doctor gives the patient an anti- convulsant drug. Anti-convulsant drugs act to reverse over-activity within the central nervous system (CNS). One way in which general inhibition in the central nervous system can be achieved is by reinforcing inhibitory transmission signals. This is a therapeutic strategy in the treatment of epilepsy. 1. Which neurotransmitter within the central nervous system is important in achieving fast overall inhibition (< 5 words)? 2. What specific receptor(s) does this neurotransmitter interact with? What class of receptor is this/are these (suggest < 15 words)? 3. There is a class of drugs that interacts with receptors for this neurotransmitter. Name this class of drugs, what condition(s) they are often used to treat, and their molecular mode of action in achieving CNS inhibition (suggest <200 words). 4. Apart from acting as a receptor agonist, what other pharmacological strategies could be used to increase the activity of this inhibitory neurotransmitter (suggest < 80 words)?
A patient is brought into the emergency room suffering from a seizure. The ER doctor immediately suspects epilepsy, a disorder characterised by abnormally high activity in the brain. An electroencephalograph (EEG) does indeed show that the electrical activity within the patient's brain is extremely high. In order to counter this over-activity within the central nervous system, the doctor gives the patient an anti- convulsant drug. Anti-convulsant drugs act to reverse over-activity within the central nervous system (CNS). One way in which general inhibition in the central nervous system can be achieved is by reinforcing inhibitory transmission signals. This is a therapeutic strategy in the treatment of epilepsy. 1. Which neurotransmitter within the central nervous system is important in achieving fast overall inhibition (< 5 words)? 2. What specific receptor(s) does this neurotransmitter interact with? What class of receptor is this/are these (suggest < 15 words)? 3. There is a class of drugs that interacts with receptors for this neurotransmitter. Name this class of drugs, what condition(s) they are often used to treat, and their molecular mode of action in achieving CNS inhibition (suggest <200 words). 4. Apart from acting as a receptor agonist, what other pharmacological strategies could be used to increase the activity of this inhibitory neurotransmitter (suggest < 80 words)?
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Transcribed Image Text:A patient is brought into the emergency room suffering from a seizure.
The ER doctor immediately suspects epilepsy, a disorder characterised
by abnormally high activity in the brain. An electroencephalograph
(EEG) does indeed show that the electrical activity within the patient's
brain is extremely high. In order to counter this over-activity within
the central nervous system, the doctor gives the patient an anti-
convulsant drug.
Anti-convulsant drugs act to reverse over-activity within the central
nervous system (CNS). One way in which general inhibition in the
central nervous system can be achieved is by reinforcing inhibitory
transmission signals. This is a therapeutic strategy in the treatment of
epilepsy.
1. Which neurotransmitter within the central nervous system is
important in achieving fast overall inhibition (< 5 words)?
2. What specific receptor(s) does this neurotransmitter interact with?
What class of receptor is this/are these (suggest < 15 words)?
3. There is a class of drugs that interacts with receptors for this
neurotransmitter. Name this class of drugs, what condition(s)
they are often used to treat, and their molecular mode of action
in achieving CNS inhibition (suggest <200 words).
4. Apart from acting as a receptor agonist, what other
pharmacological strategies could be used to increase the activity
of this inhibitory neurotransmitter (suggest < 80 words)?
A second strategy for the treatment of epilepsy is to affect membrane
excitability of axons, thereby reducing the likelihood of action
potentials.
5. What class of drug has a similar mode of action (< 5 words)?
6. Describe how this class of drugs reduces membrane excitability
of axons, focusing on the function of the drug target and the way
the drug interacts with that target (suggest <200 words).
7. Structurally related drugs, with the same mode of action, are used
in the treatment of epilepsy. An important characteristic of these
drugs is that they act specifically on neurons that are firing
repetitively or at a higher rate than normal. With reference to the
drug target, describe how this selectivity is achieved (suggest
<100 words).
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