title: [The alpha2delta subunit of the voltage-dependent calcium channel. A new pharmaceutical target for psychiatry and neurology].
abstract: Calcium channel blockers are substances used for treating high blood pressure and coronary heart disease. New medications have been developed that modulate calcium channels but also show promise in psychiatric and neurologic applications. Gabapentin and pregabalin bind to a subunit of calcium channels--the alpha2delta receptors--thereby reducing calcium influx to neurons. As a result, less glutamate is released from nerve endings that use excitatory amino acids as transmitters. This in turn reduces substance P-related activation of AMPA heteroreceptors on noradrenergic synapses, total transmitter release, and finally neuronal activity. That mechanism is the probable explanation for gabapentin's and pregabalin's usefulness in the treatment of neuropathic pain but also their possible anticonvulsive and anxiolytic effects.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wedekind
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bandelow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D021122:Protein Subunits
chemical_list: D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D015220:Calcium Channels; D021122:Protein Subunits