Loss of β1 accessory Na+ channel subunits causes failure of carbamazepine, but not of lacosamide, in blocking high-frequency firing via differential effects on persistent Na+ currents.

Purpose:   In chronic epilepsy, a substantial proportion of up to 30% of patients remain refractory to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). An understanding of the mechanisms of pharmacoresistance requires precise knowledge of how AEDs interact with their targets. Many commonly used AEDs act on the transient and/or the persistent components of the voltage-gated Na(+) current (I(NaT) and I(NaP) , respectively).

Ion transport peptide splice forms in central and peripheral neurons throughout postembryogenesis of Drosophila melanogaster.

Ion transport peptides (ITPs) belong to a large arthropod neuropeptide family including crustacean hyperglycaemic hormones and are antidiuretic hormones in locusts. Because long and short ITP isoforms are generated by alternative splicing from a single gene in locusts and moths, we investigated whether similarly spliced gene products occur in the nervous system of Drosophila melanogaster throughout postembryogenesis. The itp gene CG13586 was reanalyzed, and we found three instead of the two previously annotated alternatively spliced mRNAs.

The influence of eating behavior and eating pathology on weight loss after gastric restriction operations.

Background: Eating behavior before surgery is considered to have great predictive value for the course of weight after surgery. The present study investigates the predictive value of three dimensions of eating behavior and disturbed eating on weight loss after gastric restriction surgery.

Methods: 149 patients consisting of 47 males (32%), 102 females (68%), with mean age 38.