Calcium channel essential for deep sleep identified.

[Ema]

Interesting research especially in light of all the other research suggesting channelopathies in MECFS.

To tackle the broad question of sleep, Llinás and his colleagues focused on one crucial part of the puzzle in mice. Calcium channels, selective gates in neuron walls, are integral in neuron firing, ensuring that all parts of the brain keep talking to one other. But during sleep, calcium channel activity is increased, keeping a slow rhythm that is different from patterns found during wakefulness. Based on this clue, the scientists removed one type of calcium channel, Cav3.1, and looked at how the absence of that channel's activity affected mouse brain function.

This calcium channel turns out to be a key player in normal sleep. The mice without working Cav3.1 calcium channels took longer to fall asleep than normal mice, and stayed asleep for much shorter periods. "They basically took cat naps," says Llinás. Their brain activity was also abnormal, more like normal wakefulness than sleep. Most importantly, these mice never reached deep, slow-wave sleep. "This means that we have discovered that Cav3.1 is the channel that ultimately supports deep sleep," Llinás says.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/release...cedaily+(Latest+Science+News+--+ScienceDaily)

 

[Sushi]

Very interesting! Thanks @Ema.

Their brain activity was also abnormal, more like normal wakefulness than sleep. Most importantly, these mice never reached deep, slow-wave sleep. "This means that we have discovered that Cav3.1 is the channel that ultimately supports deep sleep,

This is me from my sleep study. I had 96 partial awakenings and no stage 3 or 4 sleep. My doctor also suspected problems with calcium channels.

 

[out2lunch]

This is me from my sleep study. I had 96 partial awakenings and no stage 3 or 4 sleep.

Ditto. Bounced between Stage 1 and Stage 2, did a "drive by" through Stage 3, but never reached Stage 4.

My doctor also suspected problems with calcium channels.

Good doctor! Mine just focused on the apnea/hypopnea and prescribed CPAP.

 

[Never Give Up]

Very interesting! Thanks @Ema.

This is me from my sleep study. I had 96 partial awakenings and no stage 3 or 4 sleep. My doctor also suspected problems with calcium channels.

Ninety six partial awakenings!? OMG! That is a lot! Do you have much pain?

 

[Sushi]

Do you have much pain?

Nope, only when I'm out of line from EDS problems and sometimes from general inflammation.

 

[natasa778]

"This means that we have discovered that Cav3.1 is the channel that ultimately supports deep sleep,"

hmmm, I am not so sure about this, since they don't say (at least not in the article, haven't read the study) whether they tried removing other VGC channels. I wouldn't be surprised to see similar results with many of the others. Because losing or reducing the function of one ca channel could simply lead to different membrane potentials and effects, and maybe this doesn't necessarily have involve Cav3.1.

Sorry for nitpicking, not meaning to downplay this - def a super interesting discovery - but I would love them to now focus on the mechanism that lead to this effect and to figure out what other things (other membrane proteins and wider) could be involved and why (what possible causes other than knocking the gene out , instead of down the 'It Must be Cav3.1' alley and getting stuck there.

 

[natasa778]

Ha, what did I just say!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25845695

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21808016

 

[Never Give Up]

Nope, only when I'm out of line from EDS problems and sometimes from general inflammation.

Hmmm, that's very interesting.

I haven't kept up with sleep medicine during the past 18 years...can anyone suggest any studies to bring me up to the state of the art with respect to ME and sleep?

 

[john66]

feW days ago. read about the fact when CFS patients get anesthesia sodium channel anaesthetic it can cause problems the only drug mentioned was sodium pentathol.
also one of the Non pain drugs works on the potassium channel

 

[valentinelynx]

Interesting research especially in light of all the other research suggesting channelopathies in MECFS.



http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150627081214.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed: sciencedaily (Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily)

Irrelevantly and irreverently, I met Dr Llinas years ago (like 1995) at a Tucson Consciousness Conference, and I just love the man... he has a maverick intellect and is a charmer, too. Glad to see he's still at it.

 

[valentinelynx]

feW days ago. read about the fact when CFS patients get anesthesia sodium channel anaesthetic it can cause problems the only drug mentioned was sodium pentathol.
also one of the Non pain drugs works on the potassium channel

?? Sodium pentothal (no longer available in US), works on GABA A receptors, which are associated with chloride channels, not sodium. Local anesthetics are sodium channel inhibitors.

 

[nandixon]

Thanks @Ema. Here's a link to the full text of the study being discussed in the article you found:

Altered thalamocortical rhythmicity and connectivity in mice lacking CaV3.1 T-type Ca2+ channels in unconsciousness