کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
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2081234 | 1545211 | 2006 | 9 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |
Severe chronic pain afflicts a large number of people worldwide but satisfactory relief from such pain is difficult to achieve with drugs that are currently available, and so there is a great need for the development of new, efficacious and safe analgesics. Voltage-gated calcium-permeable ion channels are multi-subunit complexes that regulate neuronal excitability, action-potential firing patterns and neurotransmission in nociceptive pathways. Although multiple subtypes of voltage-gated calcium channels exist, pharmacological and ion-channel gene knockdown approaches in animals have revealed N-type and T-type calcium channels to be particularly attractive molecular targets for the discovery and development of new analgesic drugs. The recent approval of Prialt® (Elan Pharmaceuticals) provides the ultimate target validation for N-type calcium channels, namely proof that they are key regulators of nociceptive signaling in humans.
Journal: Drug Discovery Today - Volume 11, Issues 5–6, March 2006, Pages 245–253