Epilepsy's Unpredictability End?

This story now has a personal interest to me- I have recently been suffering from seizures and have now been referred to a neurologist to investigate the possibility of having epilepsy.

A new implant in the brain can warn of seizures minutes before they occur. Without this, epilepsy is incredibly unpredictable- putting people with the condition at risk, it is hazardous and disruptive. The warning of an imminent seizure helps sufferers stay safe.
Seizures can be described like earthquakes: you can't prevent them from happening, but if you predict them you can prepare to mitigate the effects. The implant is a patch of electrodes that measure brainwaves- it learns patterns of activity that indicate a seizure is about to happen. As this happens, the implant signals to a receiver implanted under the collarbone; alerting the person activating a handheld device with warning lights.
This means an enormous change in the independence and confidence of sufferers.

'A revolution in mental health'

Upon reading the NewScientist today, I was drawn to one particular article. This outlined the change of diagnosis procedure of mental health away from a symptom based diagnosis, and toward biomarkers and brain scans. This stood out to me as an issue, not only because I suffer from mental health problems myself, but also because such a huge sector of healthcare has been seemingly left behind research wise. You wouldn't diagnose cancer on the basis of a lump- the tissue would be tested- so why have we been diagnosing mental health issues differently, purely based on on symptoms and not on any objective laboratory measure? This would give rise to more accurate diagnoses, and hence improved help for the patient- that is, if the underlying science is reliable. This shift in technique is desirable, but 'to understand the neuroscience in sufficient depth to build a diagnosis would take time'.

Possible Drug for Autism

Currently, there are no medicines to treat autism's core symptoms.
A meeting in Massachusetts presented the results of the largest clinical trial of a drug for autism. The drug is called arbaclofen- it works by damping down the excessive brain activity. It derives from the already approved drug- baclofen (used to treat spastic muscles); this means that this class of drugs has already undergone safety testing.
150 people with autism either received a placebo or arbaclofen for 12 weeks. Although this drug did not change social withdrawal of the participants, it did make recipients more able to respond appropriate to other people.
Read in more depth: http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/top-ten-lists/2012/arbaclofen-shows-promise-treating-core-symptoms-autism

Hypothalamus: the Timer of Life

By manipulating the hypothalamus- a small almond shaped part of the brain that controls most of the basic life functions- in mice, researchers have managed to lengthen and shorten the lifespan of mice. This reveals new drug targets that may delay the onset of age-related disease.
 Mice were given gene therapy: one group to inhibit NF-kB- a protein complex that becomes more active in older mice (these lived to 1100 days); one group to activate NF-kB (these lived to 900 days); one group to age naturally (these lived to 600-1000 days). The mice that lived the longest also maintained mentally and physically fit for longer- the mice were given cognitive tests against a control and the longest lived mice performed best.
Post-mortem examinations in the longest living mice (with inhibited NF-kB) showed that they had many chemical and physical qualities of younger mice. Further investigations showed that NF-kB reduces the level of GnRH ( a chemical produced in the hypothalamus) which regulates puberty and fertility. Mice injected with GnRH resulted in new neurones in the brain and they lived longer too, with similar lifespans to that of mice with inhibited NF-kB. When injected directly into the hypothalamus, it influenced other brain regions.