Ion Channels and Ion Pumps

This monograph assembles an international array of leading clinicians and researchers to present the current body of knowledge on the molecular structure of ion channels and their function, using such techniques as voltage clamping and single channel recording, measurements of gating currents, molecular cloning and other genetic manipulations. The monograph provides the information needed to understand the role that the movement of ions has in the function and malfunction of essentially all organ systems. This monograph will impress upon the reader the multiple and interdependent responses of ion channels to physiologic stimuli, pharmacologic agonists and agents of disease and their multiple interdependent roles in diverse physiologic processes, including the regulation of electrolyte and water balance and arterial pressure, in the maintenance of endocrine and metabolic homeostasis, in the control of neuromuscular responses, in the action of anesthetic drugs, in the pathogenesis of the recently described Syndrome X (obesity, hypertension, and diabetes), and in their antibacterial effectiveness. This volume is for all clinicians and researchers interested in the far reaching effects of the various, diverse roles of ion channels, their intricate structure, and their complex functions.