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Ziconotide
Ziconotide (SNX–111; Prialt), also called intrathecal ziconotide (ITZ) because of its administration route, is an atypical analgesic agent for the amelioration of severe and chronic pain. Derived from ''Conus magus'', a cone snail, it is the synthetic form of an ω-conotoxin peptide. It is 1,000 times as powerful as morphine. In December 2004 the Food and Drug Administration approved ziconotide when delivered as an infusion into the cerebrospinal fluid using an intrathecal pump system. Discovery Ziconotide is derived from the toxin of the cone snail species ''Conus magus''. Scientists have been intrigued by the effects of the thousands of chemicals in marine snail toxins since the initial investigations in the late 1960s by Baldomero Olivera. Olivera, now a professor of biology in the University of Utah, was inspired by accounts of the deadly effects of these toxins from his childhood in the Philippines. Ziconotide was discovered in the early 1980s by University of Utah re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
N-type Calcium Channel
N-type calcium channels also called Cav2.2 channels are voltage gated calcium channels that are localized primarily on the nerve terminals and dendrites as well as neuroendocrine cells. The calcium N-channel consists of several subunits: the primary subunit α1B and the auxiliary subunits α2δ and β. The α1B subunit forms the pore through which the calcium enters and helps to determine most of the channel's properties. These channels play an important role in the neurotransmission during development. In the adult nervous system, N-type calcium channels are critically involved in the release of neurotransmitters, and in pain pathways. N-type calcium channels are the target of ziconotide, the drug prescribed to relieve intractable cancer pain. There are many known N-type calcium channel blockers that function to inhibit channel activity, although the most notable blockers are ω-conotoxins. Structure N-type calcium channels are categorized as high threshold-activated channels ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
