Additionally, anterograde amnesics without combined retrograde disorders (localized damage to the MTL system) have memories prior to the traumatic event. For this reason, the MTL is not the storage place of all memories; other regions in the brain also store memories. The key is the MTL is responsible for the learning of new materials. Other memory systems
A limited number of cases have been described in which patients with damage to other parts of the brain acquired anterograde amnesia. Easton and Parker observed damage to either the hippocampus or the surrounding cortices does not seem to result in severe amnesia in primate models. They suggested damage to the hippocampus and surrounding structures alone does not explain the amnesia they saw in patients, or increasing damage does not correlate with the degree of impairment. Furthermore, the data do not explain the dichotomy that exists in the MTL memory system between episodic and semantic memory. To demonstrate their hypothesis, they used a primate model with damage to the basal forebrain. They proposed that the disruption of neurons that project from the basal forebrain to the MTL are responsible for some of the impairment in anterograde amnesia. Easton and Parker also reported MRI scans of patients with severe anterograde amnesia showed damage beyond to cortical areas around the hippocampus and amygdala (a region of brain involved in emotions) and to surrounding white matter (white matter in the brain consists of axons, long projections of neuronal cell bodies).
Tacrolimus, sold under the brand name Prograf among others, is an immunosuppressive drug. After allogeneic organ transplant, the risk of organ rejection is moderate. To lower the risk of organ rejection, tacrolimus is given. The drug can also be sold as a topical medication in the treatment of T-cell-mediated diseases such as eczema and psoriasis. For example, it is prescribed for severe refractory uveitis after a bone marrow transplant, exacerbations of minimal change disease, Kimuras disease, and vitiligo. It can be used to treat dry eye syndrome in cats and dogs.Tacrolimus inhibits calcineurin, which is involved in the production of interleukin-2, a molecule that promotes the development and proliferation of T cells, as part of the bodys learned (or adaptive) immune response. Chemically, it is a macrolide lactone that was first discovered in 1987, from the fermentation broth of a Japanese soil sample that contained the bacterium Streptomyces tsukubensis. It is on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. Medical uses
Organ transplantation
It has similar immunosuppressive properties to ciclosporin, but is much more potent. Immunosuppression with tacrolimus was associated with a significantly lower rate of acute rejection compared with ciclosporin-based immunosuppression (30.7% vs 46.4%) in one study. Clinical outcome is better with tacrolimus than with ciclosporin during the first year of liver transplantation. Long-term outcome has not been improved to the same extent. Tacrolimus is normally prescribed as part of a post-transplant cocktail including steroids, mycophenolate, and IL-2 receptor inhibitors such as basiliximab.