Publication

Abstract : Voltage-gated N-type Ca2+ channels (NCCs) play dominant roles in neuropathic pain and cerebral ischemia. Ion channel therapeutics for many pathophysiological conditions exists, which include: affective disorders, allergic disorders, autoimmune diseases, epilepsy, hypertension, insomnia, pain, anesthesia, anxiety, and stroke. Experimentally, it was well established that NCC inhibitory activity is essential for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain and stroke. A major obstacle with these membrane proteins is that the atomic resolution experimental structures are not available to understand the mode of small molecule binding at its active sites. This article mainly focuses on Ca2+ channel blockers (CCBs), especially for NCCs, wherein lie some of the opportunities and advantages associated with these channels as drug target.