Ion channels get the message

O 13: Ion Channels in Autoimmune Neurodegeneration

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system characterized by widespread inflammation, focal demyelination and a variable degree of axonal and neuronal loss. Ionic conductances regulate T cell activation as well as neuronal function and thus have been found to play a crucial role in MS pathogenesis. Since present therapeutical approaches are only parti...

How to get your message across.

Science reporting to the public: does the message get twisted?

© 2004 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors Lay people get a substantial amount of information about health and related topics from the media. Communicating with the public through the media can be vexing for medical professionals because they lack direct control over the final reporting. It is the reporter’s framing of the information and his or her words that reach the public, rather...

The Cardiac Ion Channels

Action potentials are mediated by transient changes in ion conductance across the cell surface membrane. These changes in conductance are primarily mediated by ion channels. Ion channels are membrane-embedded proteins that selectively pass specific ions upon opening. Some ion channels are constitutively open; however, most channels open following stimulation, such as through voltage changes, in...

Renal-dose dopamine: will the message now get through?