Departamento de Fisiología, Edificio de Medicina, Universidad de Alcala Madrid, Spain.
Front Mol Neurosci. 2009 Aug 4;2:10. doi: 10.3389/neuro.02.010.2009. eCollection 2009.
Almost three decades ago, the M current was identified and characterized in frog sympathetic neurons (Brown and Adams, 1980). The years following this discovery have seen a huge progress in the understanding of the function and the pharmacology of this current as well as on the structure of the underlying ion channels. Therapies for a number of syndromes involving abnormal levels of excitability in neurons are benefiting from research on M currents. At present, the potential of M current openers as analgesics for neuropathic pain is under discussion. Here we offer a critical view of existing data on the involvement of M currents in pain processing. We believe that enhancement of M currents at the site of injury may become a powerful strategy to alleviate pain in some peripheral neuropathies.
大约三十年前,M 电流在青蛙交感神经元中被鉴定和描述(Brown 和 Adams,1980)。在这一发现之后的几年里,人们对这种电流的功能和药理学以及其潜在的离子通道结构有了巨大的认识进展。有许多涉及神经元兴奋性异常的综合征的治疗方法受益于对 M 电流的研究。目前,正在讨论 M 电流开放剂作为治疗神经性疼痛的镇痛药的潜力。在这里,我们对现有的关于 M 电流参与疼痛处理的数据进行了批判性的评估。我们相信,在损伤部位增强 M 电流可能成为缓解某些周围神经病变疼痛的一种有力策略。