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Rational anti-rage drug

Backwards levetiracetam
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Keppra aka levetiracetam is a seizure drug. I am not sure how these things are discovered but the target is some brain receptor with uncertain function; see link. Keppra has the unusual side effect of predisposing to rage; see link. This is not combativeness with confusion like someone drunk, but just short temperedness. A weird side effect.

Maybe the protein targeted by this drug (something called SV2A) is important for rage. Maybe the people with rage problems have some deficit in quantity or function of this, or in people who have rage problems for other reason (eg dementia) increased SV2A function might help with that. I propose that a drug could be designed to bind SV2A to do the reverse of keppra. One would expect such a drug in excess might also lower seizure threshhold which would not be good.

If this does not bring beanangel out of the woodwork nothing will.

bungston, Mar 25 2011

(?) Levetiracetam http://en.wikipedia.../wiki/Levetiracetam
[bungston, Mar 25 2011]

Keppra side effects http://www.ncbi.nlm...gov/pubmed/14741183
Hostility is hostile! [bungston, Mar 25 2011]

Stronger cite http://www.ncbi.nlm...gov/pubmed/14527496
[mouseposture, Mar 25 2011]

Irrational anti-rage drugs http://www.ncbi.nlm...gov/pubmed/19744405
[mouseposture, Mar 25 2011]

Wikipedia: The Terminal Man http://en.wikipedia...ki/The_Terminal_Man
[rcarty, Mar 26 2011]

[link]






       Actually, of the common AEDs, [seizure drugs] ONLY levetiracetam has been shown to be INeffective in the treatment of impulsive aggression. (That's a quote from <link2>, emphasis added.)   

       However, these aren't *rational* anti rage drugs -- more like "this is already marketed & safety-tested for epilepsy, let's try it for a psychiatric indication because AEDs usually turn out to be useful for those" drugs.   

       So this is a really good idea, *and* it wouldn't necessarily lower seizure threshold.
mouseposture, Mar 25 2011
  

       Levetiracetam. The Berserkers might have taken something similar.
ldischler, Mar 26 2011
  
      
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