Balance between the two ion channels
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 7:42 pm
CCSVI in New Zealand
The news we have been waiting for;
Scientists are closer to solving one of the many mysteries of multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases, thanks to a recent study conducted at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 152258.htm
"If the sodium level drops, an accompanying drop in the leak current will maintain the signal, whereas if the sodium drops but the leak current doesn't, signal transmission may fail. Conversely, if the sodium level is too high and the leak current doesn't increase, a patient may experience twitching. The "safe" zone lies between the two limits.
"Trying to influence the balance between the two ion channels is a completely new approach, and drugs that target leak currents could be as important as those targeting the sodium current," adds Sejnowski. "I think we have a good chance at some point to help MS patients. The first step is to understand what's going on."
"Our model offers a novel explanation for many of the peculiar and intermittent symptoms that MS patients experience," says first author Jay S. Coggan, who had studied leak channels in previous work. "The injured axon is continually struggling to maintain order within a functional range. There is danger to the right and left. A variety of perturbations can nudge the axon one way or the other. It makes sense that leak channels might participate in these changes."
In some instances, for example, their symptoms worsen if they are too warm, but improve if they are cooled off-a phenomenon that correlates to the fact that these channels are temperature-dependent. "If a patient is near one of the boundaries and only marginally 'safe,' heating up could cause him or her to cross into the failure zone," Coggan adds. Temperature, therefore, hints at which boundary the patient is approaching.
Beyond MS and demyelinating diseases, insights into the sodium/leak current have applications to intractable pain-a field that Sejnowski's group will be investigating next."
This is in my view a positive step in the understanding of the effect within the damaged areas of CNS early on in the process prior to the lesion forming, the cause is the next step. What causes the imbalance and what causes the lack of sodium or potassium will be the key.
The news we have been waiting for;
Scientists are closer to solving one of the many mysteries of multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases, thanks to a recent study conducted at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 152258.htm
"If the sodium level drops, an accompanying drop in the leak current will maintain the signal, whereas if the sodium drops but the leak current doesn't, signal transmission may fail. Conversely, if the sodium level is too high and the leak current doesn't increase, a patient may experience twitching. The "safe" zone lies between the two limits.
"Trying to influence the balance between the two ion channels is a completely new approach, and drugs that target leak currents could be as important as those targeting the sodium current," adds Sejnowski. "I think we have a good chance at some point to help MS patients. The first step is to understand what's going on."
"Our model offers a novel explanation for many of the peculiar and intermittent symptoms that MS patients experience," says first author Jay S. Coggan, who had studied leak channels in previous work. "The injured axon is continually struggling to maintain order within a functional range. There is danger to the right and left. A variety of perturbations can nudge the axon one way or the other. It makes sense that leak channels might participate in these changes."
In some instances, for example, their symptoms worsen if they are too warm, but improve if they are cooled off-a phenomenon that correlates to the fact that these channels are temperature-dependent. "If a patient is near one of the boundaries and only marginally 'safe,' heating up could cause him or her to cross into the failure zone," Coggan adds. Temperature, therefore, hints at which boundary the patient is approaching.
Beyond MS and demyelinating diseases, insights into the sodium/leak current have applications to intractable pain-a field that Sejnowski's group will be investigating next."
This is in my view a positive step in the understanding of the effect within the damaged areas of CNS early on in the process prior to the lesion forming, the cause is the next step. What causes the imbalance and what causes the lack of sodium or potassium will be the key.