The role of calcium and the significance of calciumantagonists in some neurological and neurosurgical diseases.
Calcium is an important intracellular 'second messenger' in the activation of contractile proteins in vascular smooth muscle cells. Intracellular calcium accumulation probably has a major pathological effect in the occurrence of ischemic cell damage. Calcium antagonists are a heterogenous group of substances with one property in common, that is they interfere with the transmembrane movement of calcium. Their therapeutic usefulness in cerebral vasospasms, migraine and cerebral ischemia is reviewed.
D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000188:drug therapy; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000188:drug therapy
D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D002118:Calcium