future directions in neuro?

[monkeyarms]

every so often i hear the vague reference to the "future of neurology" that implies a great deal of optimism regarding the ability to treat patients. this is always accompanied by an allusion to "research." as a soon to be ms1 with a strong interest in neurology, i am curious to know what those of you with more exposure to the field feel these advances will be. of course i understand that there has been a tremendous expansion of knowledge in the neurosciences over the past 30 years, but i am wondering about specific advances relative to specific conditions. drugs? procedures? rehab protocols? also curious whether these are expected to be therapeutic or curative. does anyone expect the field to expand beyond the current patient population due to the increasing ability to integrate knowledge of cns function with the rest of the organism? hmmm....just food for thought, i guess. thanks in advance for any replies.

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[monkeyarms]

i am rescinding my thanks in advance in light of the fact that i have recieved no responses

 

[Neuroxy]

I want to introduce myself as a premed at Boston College, and to use my first post in asking you all to take another look at monkey's query. I'm interested in this too: I like neuroscience a lot but how exactly does it relate to neurology? What's new in neurological treatment? Why not just go into something sexier like cardio? There must be something interesting in the future of the specialty, and someone here must know a bit about the field and how it relates to the basic research. Thanks for the feedback, and once again: hello to you all!

 

[gbv]

bump

come on, there are tons of people with neuro exposure here!

 

[Vader]

There is a great deal of optimism among neurologists, especially those in academics, about the future of the field. The 90's were called "The Decade of the Brain", and reflected an explosion of neuroscience research that has provided new insights into basic mechanisms of molecular and cellular neurobiology, development, systems neuroscience, behavior, and other areas that the field encompasses.

A good example is the area of spinal cord injury and regeneration. We now have an understanding of some of the major molecules (i.e. Nogo and its receptors) involved that prevent regrowth and regaining function. These molecules are new targets for therapy.

Another example is the recent Nature paper on stem cell injections causing functional recovery in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis.

There was also a recent paper in Science demonstrating functional recovery after stem cell injection for a model of limb girdle muscular dystrophy.

Alzheimer's used to be completely untreatable... now we know that keeping the brain active can prevent or delay onset and we have at least one drug class (cholinesterase inhibitors) used to treat cognitive symptoms during the early stages. There are vaccines currently under clinical trials.

Advances in Parkinson's disease research have led to things like Deep Brain Stimulation, which reversibly inhibits electrical activity in a focal area, restoring balance between the direct and indirect basal ganglia pathways.

These and many other scientific advances have contributed to our understanding of the basic biology and disease pathogenesis, while also providing some interesting potential targets or modes of therapy. As the pace of scientific knowledge increases (i.e. with completion of the human and mouse genome projects, gene expression analysis, proteomics, pharmacogenomics, etc), the future definitely looks bright for neurologists and the patients they treat.

And lastly, the brain and nervous system are immeasurably more complex than any other system. That is why the field of neuroscience is so fascinating!