Potassium channels (including KCNQ) and epilepsy

Abstract

Potassium channels are integral to neuronal excitability. They set the resting membrane potential and shape depolarizations caused by excitatory synaptic inputs and action potentials. One potassium channel subgroup-alternatively called the KCNQ, Kv7, or M-channels-has recently emerged as a viable target for antiepileptic drugs. For an expanded treatment of this topic see Jasper's Basic Mechanisms of the Epilepsies, Fourth Edition (Noebels JL, Avoli M, Rogawski MA, Olsen RW, Delgado-Escueta AV, eds) published by Oxford University Press (available on the National Library of Medicine Bookshelf [NCBI] at). © 2010 International League Against Epilepsy.