Ionic Channels and Effect of Taurine on the Heart

This title is printed to order. This book may have been self-published. If so, we cannot guarantee the quality of the content. In the main most books will have gone through the editing process however some may not. We therefore suggest that you be aware of this before ordering this book. If in doubt check either the author or publisher’s details as we are unable to accept any returns unless they are faulty. Please contact us if you have any questions.

This book is based on papers presented at a Symposium held in Seoul, Korea in 1992. The idea for the symposium developed naturally from work by the editors and their colleagues on the possible role of certain amino acids, like taurine, that are strongly concentrated by the cells of the heart, and the relationship between such acids and membrane ionic currents. The first obvious question was whether it is possible to identify the transport mechanisms involved for taurine and whether they are electrogenic. The second question is what function could be served by such processes: does taurine play an essential role in cardiac tissue and is this important in protecting the heart from disease? A number of the world’s leading cardiac electrophysiologists and taurine specialists attended the symposium to discuss these questions. The papers in this volume range all the way from fundamental research on ionic current mechanisms in the heart to the use of taurine in clinical practice.