Shanthakumar 1

Samyuktha Shanthakumar

Mrs. Ginger McClendon

Prosper Career Independent Study

30 November 2023

Evidence of Learning: A Molecule Away from Madness: Tales of the Hijacked Brain by Sara

Manning Peskin

For my second Evidence of Learning, I am writing about the book A Molecule Away from

Madness: Tales of the Hijacked Brain by Sara Manning Peskin. This book discusses minuscule

but paramount molecules in our brain and how they can be triggered to cause life-altering

diseases like Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Pick's disease, etc. The author

categorizes these molecules as mutants, rebels, invaders, and evaders. Mutants are altered

sequences of DNA. DNA is a long, chainlike molecule made of four bases: adenine, cytosine,

guanine, and thymine. These bases are abbreviated as A, C, G, and T. These are arranged in a

specific order throughout a person's DNA molecule. Even when a minute part of this molecule is

altered, it can cause life-shortening diseases. Think of the DNA as computer code and the

alterations as typos in the computer code. These typos would cause the program to self-destruct.

Like computer code, DNA contains instructions that tell enzymes how and where each protein

should be made throughout our body. If there are alterations in the DNA molecule, the enzymes

that make new proteins will read the incorrect directions and produce the wrong protein in the

bad part of the body. Over time, as these faulty proteins accumulate in the body and perform

tasks incorrectly, diseases and disorders arise.

 Shanthakumar 2

The following molecules in this list are rebels. Rebels are aberrant proteins. Under

normal circumstances, these proteins take instructions from the DNA and work accordingly.

However, some proteins can be triggered to rebel in the body by attacking essential functions,

processes, and organs in our body. If we think about DNA as the computer code, then the

proteins would be the people and infrastructure that bring the legend to life to use in real life.

When these rebellious proteins attack our brains, it causes symptoms like confusion,

hallucinations, and dementia. The last two molecules on the list are characterized as invaders and

evaders. Invaders are molecules that enter our brains when they are unwelcome or unnecessary

and affect essential processes in our brains. Evaders are small molecules that are not available in

our brains when they are needed. One or more criminal molecules mentioned above affect the

neurological diseases discussed in this book.

There were many neurological diseases discussed in this book, but the disease that piqued

my interest was Huntington's disease. The author begins the chapter on this disease by describing

the setting of a Huntington's disease clinic, where a 26-year-old woman named Amelia Elman

was waiting to get her results back on whether she has Huntington's or not. Amelia's mother had

passed away from Huntington's disease a year ago. Her mother's death was slow, excruciating,

and lasted for a decade. Amelia began noticing her early Huntington's symptoms in her mom

when she moved to a motel with her mom. Her mom's arms would move and jerk unpredictably,

knocking down objects from countertops or hitting the sides of furniture. Cooking became an

arduous task for her mom. Her mom would often drop silverware or burn herself due to

uncontrollable movements, and when those movements became intense, she collapsed to the

floor and looked at the ceiling. A couple of years went by, and Amelia transferred her mom to a
 Shanthakumar 3

nursing home. Now, Amelia began noticing late-stage Huntington's symptoms like more

prominent jerking movements, hallucinations, and inability to speak in her mother. Her mom was

convinced that she owned a Walmart and that she and Amelia were still living together. Amelia's

mom soon lost her ability to speak. She was quickly unable to swallow food or liquids properly,

and this resulted in frequent aspiration (accidentally inhaling an object or fluid into the airways)

and caused bouts of pneumonia. Amelia's mother passed away one day. Amelia learned that

Huntington's disease was genetically inherited and that she has a 50% chance of inheriting it.

Amelia soon learns that she has Huntington's as well. She decides to train her body and mind as

strong as they can be to handle the hurdles that the disease throws her. She also begins traveling

the world to see places and meet people while she still can.

After describing Amelia's story, the author discusses a group of researchers who invented

a way to test for Huntington's disease. In 1968, a 23-year-old woman named Nancy Wexler

created workshops with groups of scientists to find out a way to cure Huntington's disease. In

1979, scientists from one of Nancy's workshops figured out a way to identify Huntington's

disease. They stated that when DNA is inherited, genes that are close together in a chromosome

are likely to be inherited together. Instead of finding one specific gene, they can look for a region

of the DNA where Huntington's gene is potentially present. The scientists decided to use tiny

molecular scissors that could cut the region where Huntongton's gene is supposed to be. These

molecular scissors cut the gene so that the DNA region with Huntington's disease would appear

in a different length than the region without Huntington's disease. This vital discovery paved the

way for scientists to find a way to test for Huntington's disease.

 Shanthakumar 4

I was assigned this book as a reference for the HOSA Medical Reading competition.

When I finished reading this book, I felt content that I had learned a lot from it that would help

me with my competition and my PCIS project. There were many chapters in the book where the

concept of neuroplasticity played an important role, which helped me find ideas I could

incorporate into my PCIS project. This book helped me discover my interest in researching

Huntington's disease and how it affects the brain over time. I will use the information from this

valuable book throughout my medical career.

 Shanthakumar 5

Work Cited

Peskin, Sara Manning. A Molecule Away from Madness: Tales of the Hijacked Brain. W. W.

Norton & Company, February 7, 2023.