Although the importance of calcium (Ca2+) in the maintenance of cardiac contractility was recognized as early as 1880, the critical role of the ion in the contractile process in skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle has only been established within the last three decades.As the complexity of the pharmacological actions of the Ca2+ channel inhibitors grows, there is a continued need to further clarify the inhibitors, both chemically and functionally.This volume provides an update of the field based on the work presented at the 5th International Symposium on Calcium Antagonists: Pharmacology and Clinical Research. It reviews the current state of the growing area of molecular biology of Ca2+ channels. In the cardiovascular area, in addition to the well-established clinical uses of Ca2+ channel inhibitors, exciting new work pointing to an application in atherosclerosis is described. The book also includes important uses of Ca2+ antagonists in novel areas of interest such as the gastrointestinal tract, renal protection and multi-drug resistance.

Springer Book Archives

1. Structure-Function Studies of the Voltage-Dependent Calcium Channels.- 2. Regulation of Calcium Channels by Protein Phosphorylation.- 3. Interactions of Lacidipine and Other Calcium Channel Drugs with Biological Membranes: A Structural Model for Receptor/Drug Binding Utilizing the Membrane Bilayer.- 4. Regulation of Calcium Channels in Vascular Smooth Muscle.- 5. Calcium and the Production of Endothelium-Derived Vasoactive Factors.- 6. Postnatal Development of Calcium Channels in Cardiac Muscle.- 7. The Hemodynamic Effects of Calcium Antagonists under Pathological Conditions.- 8. Calcium, Ischemia, and the Calcium Antagonists.- 9. Multiple Organ Protection through Endothelial Cell Stabilization: A Mechanism of Action of Calcium Antagonists?.- 10. New Insight into the Vascular Properties of Lacidipine.- 11. Effect of Felodipine on Left Ventricular Performance in Conscious Dogs: Assessment by Left Ventricular Pressure-Volume Analysis.- 12. Lacidipine in the Treatment of Hypertension: Clinical Data.- 13. Insights in the Cardioprotective Mechanism of the New Drug R56865.- 14. Do the Differences between Calcium Antagonists Matter when Treating Hypertension?.- 15. Effects of Lacidipine on Ischemic and Reperfused Myocardium.- 16. Atherogenic Activity Caused by Excess Membrane Cholesterol in Arterial Smooth Muscle: Role of Calcium Channels.- 17. Understanding the Initiating Factors in Atherosclerosis: Implications for Intervention.- 18. Calcium Antagonists and Lipid-Lowering Agents in the Protection of the Arterial Wall.- 19. Calcium Channel Blockers as Agents for the Treatment of Atherosclerosis.- 20. Anti-Arteriosclerotic Effects of Calcium Antagonists: Do Calcium Antagonists Inhibit Cholesterol Accumulation in Coronary Arteries of Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits?.- 21. Cholesterol Enrichment during Dietary Atherosclerosis Alters Smooth Muscle Plasma Membrane Width and Structure: Evidence for Reversal by the 1,4-Dihydropyridine Amlodipine.- 22. Lacidipine and Atherosclerosis.- 23. Potentiation of the Antiplatelet Effect of Aspirin by the Calcium Channel Antagonist Amlodipine.- 24. The Effects of Lacidipine on Insulin Sensitivity.- 25. Calcium Antagonists, Hypertension, and Atherosclerosis.- 26. Expression, Localization, and Function of Calcium Channels in NGF-Treated PC12 Cells.- 27. Receptor-Mediated Inhibition of Calcium Currents and Synaptic Transmission in Cultured Hippocampal Pyramidal Neurons.- 28. Calcium Stores and Calcium Channels of Cerebellum Purkinje Cells.- 29. Calcium Channel Signaling in Astrocytes.- 30. Studies on Synaptosomes: New Insights on Calcium Antagonists.- 31. The Regulation of Neuronal Calcium Channels.- 32. Effect of Aging on Brain Voltage-Dependent Calcium Channels.- 33. Calcium Overload Blockade in Neurons and Cardiomyocytes.- 34. Effect of Nicardipine on Antioxidant Enzymatic Activities and LTC4 Release in Experimental SAH.- 35. Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke with Calcium Antagonists.- 36. Pharmacological Approach to Acute Ischemic Stroke.- 37. Calcium Antagonist and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.- 38. Pharmacological Basis for Use of Calcium Antagonists in Dementia.- 39. Calcium Channels in Intestinal Smooth Muscle.- 40. Pharmacological Aspects of Calcium Channels in Nonvascular Smooth Muscle.- 41. Pharmacology of Calcium Antagonists Active on Gastrointestinal Calcium Channels.- 42. Role of Calcium Channels in Pharmacological Modulation of Gastrointestinal Motility.- 43. A New Class of Calcium Antagonist Selective for the GI Tract.- 44. Therapeutic Application of Calcium Antagonists in Gastroenterology.- 45. CalciumAntagonists and the Kidney: Implications for Renal Protection.- 46. Calcium Antagonists Improve the Outcome after Renal Transplantation.- 47. Reversal of P-Glycoprotein-Mediated Multidrug Resistance in Tumor Cells by Calcium Channel Antagonists.- 48. Reversal of Multiple Drug Resistance (MDR) in Malaria by Reverse Isomers of Calcium Channel Blockers and its Possible Application to Cancer and MDR Parasitic Diseases.