SUMMER 1997, Vol 6, No. 3

A LOOK BACK

Our long-time subscribers certainly know the scope of our coverage of neuroscience. But, for new readers filling out the survey in this issue, here are some typical articles appearing in On The Brain over the last five years

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
"Cracking the Diagnostic Wall," by Jeanne Y. Wei, M.D., Ph.D., (volume 2, no. 2) reported on the search for a definitive diagnostic test for Alzheimer's disease.

"Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?" by Huntington Potter, Ph.D., (vol. 2, no. 2) was an extensive examination of Alzheimer's disease from the turn-of-the century work of the man after whom the disease is named to current approaches to diagnosis and therapy.

"A Common Mechanism in Alzheimer's and Adult-Onset Diabetes," by Bruce A. Yankner, M.D., Ph.D. (vol. 3, no. 4). This article examined the protein fibrils that may contribute to Alzheimer's and adult onset diabetes.

"Alzheimer's Disease: The Eyes Have It," by Huntington Potter, (vol. 4, no. 1), presented a look at a new approach to diagnostic testing for Alzheimer's based on an eye pupil dilation test.

PAIN
"Pain: Protector and Tormentor. The Battle Against Pain," by Howard L. Fields, M.D., Ph.D., (vol. 3, no. 3), in which Dr. Fields wrote, "Several approaches could result in new treatments for chronic pain. First and most difficult is to determine the cause of the pain and design a protocol to correct it. Unfortunately, for many painful conditions -headache, for example - there are no animal models and the experiments that could give us insights into mechanisms cannot be conducted on humans with current technology."

DEPRESSION
"Depression: More and Meaner Than It Seems," by Jerrold Rosenbaum, M.D., (vol. 5, no. 2) looked into the risk, diagnosis and treatment of depression.

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
"Multiple Sclerosis - The Immune System's Terrible Mistake" by Peter Riskind, M.D. (vol. 5, no. 4). Dr. Riskind, Chief of the Neurimmunology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital wrote about this auto-immune disorder, its symptoms, risk, genetic factors, environmental triggers, and noted, "Fortunately, newer drugs hold the promise of long term beneficial effects. Two versions of a natural immune substance, beta-interferon, (known by the trade names Betaseron and Avonex) reduce the frequency of flares by about 30 percent in patients with R/R MS."

BRAIN INJURY
"After Neurotrauma: Brain and Spinal Cord Repair," by Joseph R. Madsen, M.D., (vol. 5, no. 4) reported on the neurotrauma epidemic, prevention and treatment of secondary injuries to the spinal cord and brain using cellular and biochemical approaches, and regeneration therapies.

ADHD
"Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder," by Stephen Faraone, Ph.D. and Joseph Biederman, M.D., (vol. 5, no. 1) an article wherein the authors "...found ADHD and its common complications to be associated with low social class, large family size, paternal antisocial personality, and maternal mental disorder."

PARKINSON'S DISEASE
"Parkinson's Disease: A New Surgical Approach Provides Help," by Rami Burstein, Ph.D., (vol. 5, no. 3), examined a procedure called pallidotomy, for patients no longer helped by drugs.

STROKE
"Acute Stroke Treatment: A New Age," by Walter J. Koroshetz, M.D., (vol. 5, no. 3) who discusses ischemic stroke and offers recommendations for improvements in acute stroke therapy.

The September 28, 1993 "Dialogues" participants were Drs. Marilyn Albert and Huntington Potter (Memory Loss, Aging, and Alzheimer's Disease); Howard Shaffer and Steven Hyman (Drugs and the Brain); and Edward Cassem and Joseph Coyle (Depression).

The Summer 1995 issue of On The Brain featured excerpts from two forums. In the October 1994 "Dialogues" the topic, "Pain: Must People Suffer?" was discussed by Drs. David Borsook and Charles Berde. At the June, 1995 forum, Marilyn Albert, Ph.D. and Huntington Potter, Ph.D. discussed "Memory Loss, Aging and Alzheimer's Disease." At both the October and June "Dialogues", Martin A. Samuels, M.D. and Steven Warach, M.D. discussed "Brain Attack: Preventing Damage from Stroke".

The Special Section of the Fall 1996 issue of On The Brain excerpted the forum held in the Spring of 1996. Schizophrenia was discussed by Donald Goff, M.D. and Francine Benes, M.D., Ph.D. Spinal cord injury and motor neuron disease were discussed by Dr. Alfred Sandrock and Dr. Robert Brown.

The Winter 1997 issue of On the Brain excerpted the October 1996 forum at which depression was the topic of discussion. The participants were Dr. Steven E. Hyman and Dr. Edwin H. Cassem who were joined by moderators Gerald Fischbach, president of the Harvard Maloney Neuroscience Institute, and Mike Wallace, CBS 60 Minutes co-editor.

When launching On The Brain, David Mahoney remarked that its purpose is "to explore the latest news from this extraordinary field and how it affects the concerns of the public, medical profession and science itself." And, as he also said: "The Harvard Mahoney Neuroscience Institute has made public education a principal goal... As the mists vanish from this last frontier, every individual, patient, family member and doctor can now benefit from the knowledge we are gaining. We hope you enjoy sharing the excitement as a reader of On The Brain."