AsianScientist (Feb. 24, 2012) – Decades after it crashed into a field in rural Australia, the Murchison meteorite remains one of the most studied meteorites due to its richness in organic compounds and its potential for unlocking clues to how natural processes occur in our universe.
In findings that were published in a recent issue of the journal Epilepsia, Assistant Professor Damian Shin of the Albany Medical Center and colleagues came across the presence of an extraterrestrial amino acid that may prevent or reduce the duration of seizures in epilepsy.
Because isovaline is so similar to glycine, which has been shown to calm the nerves in the brain, Shin and his team hypothesized that the E.T. molecule may also have an effect on seizure control by calming brain activity in a similar manner.
Using rodent models, Shin and his team examined the effect isovaline had on controlling seizures. Remarkably, isovaline stopped seizures completely or reduced the frequency of seizures by 50 percent.
“Just as we suspected, we found that isovaline quiets excitatory neurons. However, it does so by a mechanism unlike glycine. Instead, isovaline increases the activity of interneurons, which act as ‘gating’ cells, which control how other neurons interact with each other,” he said.
“This is promising because we know that epilepsy causes a disruption in the normal functioning of some ion channels – prominent components of the nervous system that conduct nerve impulses within a cell. Sometimes the activity of ion channels become pathological, which makes some neurons ‘hyperexcited’,” he said.
The next step, according to Shin, is to determine which ion channel is affected by this amino acid.
He stressed, however, that the work is preliminary and it could be years before the work is translated to a treatment for humans, likely for a portion of the population looking for new epilepsy solutions.
“Approximately 20 to 30 percent of patients with seizures do not respond to drugs and the ones who do may experience serious side effects,” he said.
“We’re hoping isovaline can someday fill that gap. When you consider it, the notion that something that arrived here from outer space can impact a problem here on earth is particularly exciting.”
Since the meteorite’s initial discovery, Shin discovered that isovaline has also been found in fungus on Earth and is theorized to result from dust from the meteorite.
The discovery of these extraterrestrial building blocks of life has also led scientists to question whether the meteorite is a clue to life outside of our solar system, and whether theories of evolution’s “big bang theory” hold any truth.
The article can be found at: Shin D et al. (2011) Isovaline, a rare amino acid, has anticonvulsant properties in two in vitro hippocampal seizure models by increasing interneuronal activity.
——
Source: Albany Medical Center; Photo: US Department of Energy.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.
