Ion Channel News and Research

RSS

Scientists identify important new genes for epilepsy

Scientists screening the DNA of large cohorts for known and suspected epilepsy associated genes are finding that, while some genes are implicated in discrete phenotypes or forms of epilepsy, other genes are implicated in a wider range of phenotypes. Although ion channel genes are a common cause of epilepsy, the researchers also report a significant number of epilepsy patients with mutations in non-ion channel genes. The studies have important implications for treatment, prognosis and risk counseling.

9 Dec 2013

Biologists discover how nerve cells recycle tiny vesicles

University of Utah and German biologists discovered how nerve cells recycle tiny bubbles or "vesicles" that send chemical nerve signals from one cell to the next. The process is much faster and different than two previously proposed mechanisms for recycling the bubbles.

5 Dec 2013

New research offers fresh insights to drug designers searching for better pain treatments

In a technical tour de force, UC San Francisco scientists have determined, at near-atomic resolution, the structure of a protein that plays a central role in the perception of pain and heat.

5 Dec 2013

Researchers develop new microsystem for testing drugs to treat epilepsy, MG and cystic fibrosis

Researchers from the University of Southampton, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Quebec at Montreal, have developed a new microsystem for more efficient testing of pharmaceutical drugs to treat diseases such as cystic fibrosis, MG (myasthenia gravis) and epilepsy.

26 Nov 2013

Researchers identify a group of 39 genes linked with alcoholism

There is good evidence from studies of families and twins that genetics plays an important role in the development of alcoholism. However, hundreds of genes likely are involved in this complex disorder, with each variant contributing only a very small effect. Thus, identifying individual risk genes is difficult.

21 Nov 2013

MGH investigators identify molecule that plays key role in the breakdown of kidney filter

One of the most devastating side effects of diabetes is kidney failure, and one of the earliest signs of kidney damage is a disruption of the organ's filtering capacity. Diabetes patients who develop kidney failure must go on dialysis, seriously limiting their quality of life and placing them at significantly increased risk of death. The incidence of kidney disease is increasing with rising rates of obesity-associated type 2 diabetes, but very little progress has been made towards protecting the kidney's filter barrier during the past 50 years.

16 Nov 2013

Cellectricon introduces Dynaflow Resolve Temperature Control system for ion channel research

Cellectricon, a leading provider of advanced cell-based screening technologies and services, launches the Dynaflow Resolve Temperature Control system at Neuroscience 2013 (San Diego), booth #933.

From Cellectricon 12 Nov 2013

Inhibition of TRPC5 ion channel protects kidney filter

The kidney is responsible for retaining essential proteins and removing waste products from the blood stream. Injury to the kidney results in loss of kidney filter function, which if not treated promptly, can induce kidney failure.

11 Nov 2013

Cellectricon to demonstrate Cellaxess technology at Neuroscience 2013

Cellectricon, a leading provider of advanced cell-based screening technologies and services, will be presenting new data at Neuroscience 2013, 9-13 November, San Diego (USA).

From Cellectricon 31 Oct 2013

BUSM researchers capture images of channels that direct proteins to right place in cell membranes

Similar to passengers on an urban transit system, every protein made in the cell has a specific destination and function. Channels in cell membranes help direct these proteins to their appropriate target. Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine and their colleagues have now captured images of these channels as they open to allow proteins to pass through a membrane, while the proteins are being made.

24 Oct 2013

CU researchers explore why maximum heart rate decreases with age

Researchers at the University of Colorado have new insight into the age-old question of why maximum heart rate decreases with age. This decrease in maxHR not only limits the performance of aging athletes but it is also a leading cause for nursing home admittance for otherwise-healthy elderly individuals who no longer have the physical capacity required for independent living.

16 Oct 2013

Researchers develop new method to produce artificial membranes using nanoscaled tip

Researchers around Dr. Michael Hirtz from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Dr. Aravind Vijayaraghavan from the University of Manchester have developed a new method to produce artificial membranes: Using a nanoscaled tip, they write tailored patches of phospholipid membrane onto a graphene substrate.

16 Oct 2013

New picture of interaction between nervous & immune systems could lead to novel therapies

A new picture of how the nervous system interacts with the immune system to cause the itch and inflammation associated with eczema, a chronic skin disease, could lead to new therapies for the condition, according to University of California, Berkeley, scientists.

4 Oct 2013

Scientists discover two new compounds that could help treat CF patients having common mutation

Cystic fibrosis is a lethal genetic disorder that in France affects one child per 4,500 births. An international team led by scientists at the Institut Fédératif de Recherche Necker-Enfants Malades (CNRS/Inserm/Université Paris Descartes), led by Aleksander Edelman, has recently discovered two new compounds that could be used to treat patients carrying the most common mutation.

30 Sep 2013

CardioExcyte 96 for cardiac toxicity profiling and screening introduced by Nanion

Cardiac safety assessment is a vital part of drug development since late withdrawals of compound candidates, due to heart liability issues such as ventricular arrhythmia, are very costly. In-vivo methods give highly relevant information but are extremely low throughput allowing the analysis of only a handful of compounds.

From Nanion Technologies 13 Sep 2013

arGEN-X generates potent antibody antagonists of Nav1.7 using SIMPLE Antibody technology

arGEN-X, a clinical stage human monoclonal antibody therapeutics company, announces it has successfully generated potent antibody antagonists of Nav1.7, using its proprietary SIMPLE Antibody™ technology.

12 Sep 2013

New advances toward making molecular prosthetics a reality

The vision for a new branch of medicine, inspired by the ancient field that began with peg legs and hand hooks, commanded the spotlight in a major address by its pioneer here today at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

11 Sep 2013

NIH-funded study finds zebrafish model may help identify treatments for childhood epilepsy

According to new research on epilepsy, zebrafish have certainly earned their stripes. Results of a study in Nature Communications suggest that zebrafish carrying a specific mutation may help researchers discover treatments for Dravet syndrome (DS), a severe form of pediatric epilepsy that results in drug-resistant seizures and developmental delays.

4 Sep 2013

Scientists develop method to generate functioning brain cells that produce myelin

Stem cell technology has long offered the hope of regenerating tissue to repair broken or damaged neural tissue. Findings from a team of UC Davis investigators have brought this dream a step closer by developing a method to generate functioning brain cells that produce myelin - a fatty, insulating sheath essential to normal neural conduction.

29 Aug 2013

Researchers receive $1M grant to research in biological components with solid-state electronics

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Columbia University, led by Ken Shepard, professor of electrical engineering and biomedical engineering at Columbia Engineering and including Virginia W. Cornish, Helena Rubinstein Professor of Chemistry, and Lars Dietrich, assistant professor of biological sciences, has won a prestigious $1 million three-year grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation to advance their research in combining biological components with solid-state electronics, creating new systems that exploit the advantages of both.

23 Aug 2013