Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Nikitin, ES
• Vinogradova, LV

Titel

Potassium channels as prominent targets and tools for the treatment of epilepsy

Ist Teil von

• Expert opinion on therapeutic targets, 2021-03, Vol.25 (3), p.223-235

Ort / Verlag

England: Taylor & Francis

Erscheinungsjahr

2021

Quelle

Taylor & Francis

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• K + channels are of great interest to epilepsy research as mutations in their genes are found in humans with inherited epilepsy. At the level of cellular physiology, K+ channels control neuronal intrinsic excitability and are the main contributors to membrane repolarization of active neurons. Recently, a genetically modified voltage-dependent K + channel has been patented as a remedy for epileptic seizures. We review the role of potassium channels in excitability, clinical and experimental evidence for the association of potassium channelopathies with epilepsy, the targeting of K+ channels by drugs, and perspectives of gene therapy in epilepsy with the expression of extra K+ channels in the brain. Control over K+ conductance is of great potential benefit for the treatment of epilepsy. Nowadays, gene therapy affecting K+ channels is one of the most promising approaches to treat pharmacoresistant focal epilepsy.