Novel discoveries in understanding the complexities of epilepsy and major depression

Abstract

The 39th Annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience was held in Chicago, Illinois, USA from 17 to 21 October, 2009. The conference was attended by more than 33,000 delegates from across the globe including scientists from both basic and clinical settings. Co-incidentally, this year, the scientific community is commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the famous English naturalist and biologist, Charles Darwin, who described the theory of natural selection. Keeping its traditions, the congress discussed various new advances in the area of neuroscience. The topics were divided into symposia, mini-symposia, nano-symposia, special lectures and poster sessions. The main areas of discussion were novel discoveries in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, drug addiction, autism, epilepsy and major depression. According to the WHO, neurological disorders are one of the greatest threats to public health. There are many unknown and challenging facts in the field of neuroscience that needs exploration. It is unfortunate that despite the availability of various drugs for treating these disorders, a sizeable population still do not achieve complete remission. Therefore, organizing such events and addressing the latest developments may open new treatment vistas for patients suffering from these disorders. The present review discusses some of the outcomes of the deliberations in the field of epilepsy and major depression.

Keywords::

• cannabinoid system
• epilepsy
• erythropoietin
• glutamate
• major depression
• neuroinflammation
• triple reuptake inhibitors