Rx

1
RxEpilepsy
-nerve cell membranes too permeable to Na
-excessive discharges of impulses from certain
brain cells, dont allow any other impulses
through

• Types of Seizures
• Petit mal little bad, victim seems
• spaced out

-impulses reaching skeletal muscles cause
violent contractions (seizures)

• Psychomotor slow
• gradual, muscle
• contractions, small
• sounds

-seizure subsides when nerve endings run out of
neurotransmitters

• Grand mal big bad, violent,
• thrashing, muscle
• contractions

-treated with Dilantin
-caused by overproduction of norepinephrine
Neurotransmitters
-specialized molecules which diffuse across a
synapse to bind to receptor sites in the
post-synaptic nerve cell membrane
-increase or decrease permeability of the nerve
cell membrane to Na
I. Excitatory
-increase permeability of nerve cell membrane to
Na
-acetylcholine, epinephrine, norepinephrine
-initiate fight-or-flight mechanism, shock
2
RxAlzheimers Disease
-most commonly affects the elderly
-neurons of the cerebral cortex progressively
lose ability to synthesize acetylcholine,
degenerate
-victims progressively lose ability to perform
sensory/motor integration, intellectual, and
memory functions (Ronald Reagan)
RxMyasthenia gravis
-receptor sites on the motor end plates at the
neuromuscular junction progressively destroyed
by white blood cells, so uptake of acetylcholine
is progressively reduced and ability to contract
skeletal muscles is lost
II. Inhibitory
-decrease permeability of nerve cell membrane to
Na
-dopamine, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA),
glycine, serotonin, endorphins
3
RxParkinsons Disease
-inadequate synthesis of dopamine by nerves
stimulating the thalamus, which directs sensory
information and motor information to and from
cerebral cortex. Impulses get mixed up,
misdirected, lost. (Muhammed Ali, Michael J. Fox)
RxMultiple Sclerosis
-an autoimmune disease, the tendency to acquire
the disease is inherited, triggered by a virus
infection (Herpes Virus-6), like Rheumatoid
Arthritis, where white blood cells attack cells
of the synovial membrane, and Myasthenia gravis,
where white blood cells attack receptor sites of
the motor end plate, and lupus, where white
blood cells attack epithelial cells of skin and
outer covering of internal organs
-white blood cells attack oligodendrocytes of
the central nervous system
4
-sclera are hardened, scar-like lesions of the
myelin sheath at the site of white blood cell
attack
RxMultiple Sclerosis
-progressive destruction of myelin leads to loss
of saltatory neurotransmission
viral antigen (spike)
glycoprotein receptor site
Virus recognized by host cell, like Trojan Horse
Herpes Virus-6
capsid
ribosomes
antigen (spike)
viral proteins
host cell DNA
envelope
host synovial membrane
viral DNA
5
RxAdrenoleukodystrophy (ALD)
-sex-linked, X-linked, recessive genetic disease
-affects only boys
-causes degeneration of the brain
-long-chain fatty acids are not metabolized
because of a missing enzyme
-accumulating fats liquefy brain, stripping away
(dissolving) myelin sheath