May 19, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR DESIREE BUTTER IN PA
Neurological diseases such a Parkinson's disease, Huntington's, multiple
sclerosis, etc. as a general rule can not be cured. Physicians try to treat
the symptoms of the disease as much as possible. Certain medications do
exist that can help improve mood, decrease involuntary movements, prevent
siezures, help promote good sleep, etc.
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A: FROM MENTOR JOAN LUSK IN RI

Any treatment of diseases affecting the brain is made more difficult by the brains obvious importance - one can't just mess around with it - and by the "blood-brain barrier" that prevents drugs from getting into the brain. Nevertheless, doctors and scientists keep trying.

Parkinson's disease is caused by a lack of dopamine in the brain. Some treatments try to supply more dopamine, some try to inhibit the normal destruction of dopamine and thereby increase its concentration. There have been attempts to implant cells that would produce dopamine. This site http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/parkinsonsdisease.html#generaloverviews
is probably too comprehensive, but you may find parts of it answer your questions.

In the case of epilepsy, current drugs try to control the seizures rather than cure the underlying problem - we don't know how to do that. Neuroscientists can make cultured neurons have seizures in vitro, so that's a promising experimental system to use to search for new drugs. But the underlying cause might still require more of the brain's complexity to manifest itself. One current therapy involves implanting an electrode into the brain. http://www.epilepsy.com/epilepsy/research.html