Potassium Channel News and Research

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University of Kentucky begins world’s first clinical trial for LATE

The motivation driving the work of Pete Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., is personal. His grandmother, Sylvia Becker, died with Alzheimer's disease, and he says his mother then grew terrified of developing the disease.

17 Mar 2022

Researchers discover functional links between potassium channel gene variants and neonatal epilepsy

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered functional links between dozens of potassium channel gene variants and neonatal epilepsy, according to a study published in JCI Insight.

4 Mar 2022

Protein found in rattlesnake venom used for making a drug candidate to modulate blood clotting

Researchers in Brazil and Belgium have developed a molecule of pharmaceutical interest from collinein-1, a protein found in rattlesnake venom.

1 Dec 2021

Study reports first-ever modeling of the electrical activity of circadian clock neurons in diurnal species

It's no secret that jet lag and night-shift work can wreak havoc on the way our body's internal clock syncs up our daily wake-sleep cycle, known as circadian rhythm, but now researchers say they are a step closer to understanding how the brain creates behavioral rhythms optimized for diurnal, rather than nocturnal, life.

30 Nov 2021

Researchers discover mechanisms underlying the unwanted side effects of drugs

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have discovered how drugs can affect various membrane-spanning proteins in addition to their intended target, potentially causing unwanted side effects.

10 Nov 2021

First pharmacological treatment option for patients with a severe form of epilepsy

Epilepsy comes in a variety of forms. Those affected by a genetically de- termined variety have severe epileptic seizures as early as the first year of life.

1 Sep 2021

CRISPRa identifies potassium channels as neuronal entry factors and druggable targets for SARS-CoV-2

New research led by Le Cong of Stanford University School of Medicine in California indicates that the KCNA6 potassium channel may help with viral entry and promote infection. In addition, KCNA6 is highly expressed in OLIG2+ neuronal cells, which has been shown to be suspectable to SARS-CoV-2 in the olfactory neuroepithelium. This area appears to contribute to loss of smell commonly observed during infection.

6 Jul 2021

QurAlis gears up for clinical development of therapeutic candidate, QRL-101

(BUSINESS WIRE)--QurAlis Corporation, a biotech company developing breakthrough precision medicines for ALS and other genetically validated neurodegenerative diseases, today announced the publication of an article in Cell Reports.

9 Jun 2021

"COVID-19 diarrhea" depends on inflammatory response that is part of the disease

Researchers in the United States have provided important insights into the pathophysiology of diarrhea that occurs in some cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

29 Apr 2021

Compounds in green and black tea relax blood vessels by activating ion channel proteins

A new study from the University of California, Irvine shows that compounds in both green and black tea relax blood vessels by activating ion channel proteins in the blood vessel wall.

8 Mar 2021

Repurposed drugs show antiviral SARS-CoV-2 E channel blocking activity, finds study

A new study by researchers at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel reports the discovery of a promising group of E channel inhibitors with significant antiviral activity. This could be developed into new treatment agents for this often-deadly virus.

26 Feb 2021

TRESK regulates the brain's circadian clock to differentiate behavior between day and night

Research from the University of Kent has found that TRESK, a calcium regulated two-pore potassium channel, regulates the brain's central circadian clock to differentiate behavior between day and night.

14 Sep 2020

Compound in pickled capers can directly regulate proteins required for bodily processes

A compound commonly found in pickled capers has been shown to activate proteins required for normal human brain and heart activity, and may even lead to future therapies for the treatment of epilepsy and abnormal heart rhythms.

14 Jul 2020

Novel drug could protect the brain during and after stroke

Neuroscientists at the University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute have identified a novel drug that could protect the brain during and after a stroke.

1 Jul 2020

Using supercomputers to screen drugs for deadly heart arrhythmias

Death from sudden cardiac arrest makes headlines when it strikes athletes. But it also causes the most deaths by natural causes in the U.S. estimated at 325,000 per year.

14 May 2020

Cryo-electron microscopy helps visualize ball-and-chain inactivation of ion channels

Ion channels, which allow potassium and sodium ions to flow in and out of cells, are crucial in neuronal 'firing' in the central nervous system and for brain and heart function.

19 Mar 2020

Drug from scorpion venom could offer hope for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

A research team led by Children's National Hospital faculty was able to "rescue" a pre-clinical model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in juvenile models, reversing motor skill deficits with the help of a novel drug derived from scorpion venom.

18 Mar 2020

New technique helps study peptide-receptor interactions on the cell surface

In the past, biologically-active peptides - small proteins like neurotoxins and hormones that act on cell receptors to alter physiology - were purified from native sources like venoms and then panels of variants were produced in bacteria, or synthesized, to study the structural basis for receptor interaction.

5 Mar 2020

Altered potassium levels in neurons linked to mood swings in bipolar patients

People with bipolar disorder experience dramatic shifts in mood, oscillating between often debilitating periods of mania and depression.

19 Feb 2020

Oxidative stress induces sleep in fruit flies, research shows

Sleep-deprived fruit flies helped reveal what induces sleep. University of Oxford researchers Anissa Kempf, Gero Miesenböck, and colleagues reveal that fruit fly sleep is driven by oxidative stress, the imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in the body. Kempf

16 Feb 2020