Abstract

Voltage-gated Calcium channels (VGCCs) play important roles in neurotransmitter release, excitationcontraction coupling, hormone secretion, and a variety of other physiological processes. Currently, there exist ion channel therapeutics for anxiety, epilepsy, hypertension, insomnia and pain. There is limited amount of study in this area despite their relevance to human disease and VGCCs remain considerably underexploited. The present review mainly focuses on calcium channel blockers (CCBs), especially for L-type channels and T-type channels, and therein lie some of the opportunities and advantages associated with VGCCs as drug targets.

Keywords: Calcium, Voltage gated channel, L-type channel, T-type channel, dihydropyridine