Trends in neurosciences
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Trends in neurosciences · Mar 2014
ReviewGABAergic interneuron transplants to study development and treat disease.
Advances in stem cell technology have engendered keen interest in cell-based therapies for neurological disorders. Postnatal engraftments of most neuronal precursors result in little cellular migration, a crucial prerequisite for transplants to integrate within the host circuitry. ⋯ Accordingly, transplants of cortical interneuron precursors migrate extensively after engraftment into a variety of CNS tissues, where they can become synaptically connected with host circuitry. We review how this remarkable ability to integrate post-transplant is being applied to the development of cell-based therapies for a variety of CNS disorders.
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Trends in neurosciences · Mar 2014
ReviewOpening paths to novel analgesics: the role of potassium channels in chronic pain.
Chronic pain is associated with abnormal excitability of the somatosensory system and remains poorly treated in the clinic. Potassium (K⁺) channels are crucial determinants of neuronal activity throughout the nervous system. ⋯ We review salient findings from expression, pharmacological, and genetic studies that have untangled a hitherto undervalued contribution of K⁺ channels in maladaptive pain signaling. These emerging data provide a framework to explain enigmatic pain syndromes and to design novel pharmacological treatments for these debilitating states.