Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
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A variety of different isoforms of mammalian voltage-gated sodium channels have been identified. These channels can be classified into three different types. Eight type 1 isoforms have been identified in the CNS, PNS, skeletal muscle, and heart. ⋯ These channels diverge from the type 1 channels in critical regions, and have not been functionally expressed, so their significance is unknown. A single isoform identified in the PNS may represent a third class of channels, in that it diverges from both type 1 and 2 channels. The type 3 channel has not been functionally expressed.
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Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. · Apr 1999
ReviewMolecular and functional diversity of voltage-gated calcium channels.
The contributing roles of voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCC) to the generation of electrical signaling are well documented. VGCCs open in response to depolarization of the plasma membrane and mediate the flux of calcium into excitable cells, which further depolarizes the membrane. ⋯ The functional consequences of such interactions as well as other molecular aspects of VGCC will be discussed. Finally, although far from a final conclusion, what is currently known about the molecular composition of native calcium channels will be summarized.
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Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. · Apr 1999
Comparative StudyMonitoring regional lung ventilation by functional electrical impedance tomography during assisted ventilation.
A new approach in discriminating the regional air volume changes in the lungs associated with either spontaneous or mechanical ventilation during assisted ventilation is presented. Impedance data are obtained by conventional electrical impedance tomography (EIT). ⋯ EIT measurements performed in an infant during synchronized intermittent mandatory ventilation were evaluated with this method and indicated that the specific local lung volume swings related to spontaneous and mechanical inhalations can be separated and imaged as tomograms. This noninvasive approach may become useful in optimizing the ventilatory pattern during advanced forms of artificial ventilation and may help the clinician in the therapy management of individual patients.