> It's kind of remarkable how little we know about the most basic functions of our bodies.
We have some of how it works; GABA was first synthesized in 1883! The problem is that we have no idea of the situation on an individual level. In this case until the spinal tap came back positive for abnormally high GABA levels, all we have to go on is the patient's report.
Fortunately in this case, high GABA levels can be measured via a spinal tap and while the article ends abruptly, the 'what next' is that his GABA is too high, so... lower it. Hopefully a drug can be found that does that sustainable.
Unfortunately, for other mental disorders, there's no such test, and no way of knowing what's chemically wrong, so for depression which probably has a whole host of causes, all we can do is try different drugs until we find one that works for a particular patient.
For now, the medical tricorder remains unfortunately in the realm of science fiction.
We have some of how it works; GABA was first synthesized in 1883! The problem is that we have no idea of the situation on an individual level. In this case until the spinal tap came back positive for abnormally high GABA levels, all we have to go on is the patient's report.
Fortunately in this case, high GABA levels can be measured via a spinal tap and while the article ends abruptly, the 'what next' is that his GABA is too high, so... lower it. Hopefully a drug can be found that does that sustainable.
Unfortunately, for other mental disorders, there's no such test, and no way of knowing what's chemically wrong, so for depression which probably has a whole host of causes, all we can do is try different drugs until we find one that works for a particular patient.
For now, the medical tricorder remains unfortunately in the realm of science fiction.