Editor’s Message and Issue Highlights, September–October 2015

Dear Colleagues: Welcome to the September–October 2015 issue of Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience. We start this issue with an intriguing review by Yarlagadda et al titled,“Placental Barrier and Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Role of Prolactin and Dopamine on the Developing Fetal Brain.” Here the authors explore a possible link between in-utero exposure to a high maternal prolactin/dopamine ratio and subsequent development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The authors hypothesize that a comprehensive, biologically oriented approach to the use of psychotropics in the regulation of neurotransmission during pre- and postpartum periods may result in better outcomes in this population. Next, in their prospective study, “The Effect of Carnitine Supplementation on Hyperammonemia and Carnitine Deficiency Treated with Valproic Acid in a Psychiatric Setting,” Nakamura and Nagamine investigate the effect of levocarnitine supplementation on serum ammonia and carnitine levels simultaneously, and their clinical outcomes in patients treated with valproic acid. The authors found that in valproic acid-treated psychiatric patients who received carnitine supplementation an overall improvement was seen in their mental status, which may be related to mitochondrial function. Following this, Narang et al present their review article, “Electroconvulsive Therapy Intervention for Parkinson’s Disease.” The authors explore the available literature to determine if use of electroconvul...
Source: Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Current Issue Editor's Message: Issue Highlights Amir H. Kalali Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience Source Type: research