The contraction of smooth muscle is an essential process underpinning diverse physiological functions ranging from gastrointestinal motility to vascular regulation. At its core, smooth muscle ...

A new molecular pathway has been identified that is critical for maintaining the smooth muscle tone that allows the passage of materials through the digestive system. Researchers at UMass Medical ...

A new study by researchers at Yale and Johns Hopkins University has discovered how asthmatic bronchial spasms — muscle contractions in the airway that cause difficulty breathing in asthma patients— ...

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 105, No. 47 (Nov. 25, 2008), pp. 18614-18618 (5 pages) ...

Colonic motility disorders, especially problems associated with constipation and diarrhea, are common in adults and children, greatly impacting quality of life. A new study in The American Journal of ...

Ferulic acid suppresses ileal smooth muscle contraction by inhibiting calcium ion influx through voltage-dependent calcium channels. This action may help prevent or treat excessive intestinal motility ...

IT is generally believed that the process which initiates contraction in striated muscle is the depolarization of the excitable membrane of the muscle fibre, although the mechanism by which membrane ...

DHA has previously been shown to inhibit voltage-dependent Ca 2+ channels (VDCCs). The research group found a new pharmacological action of DHA to inhibit the Orai1 channel, which is one of ...

When you take a muscle through the full range of motion, it goes through three phases of muscle contraction: eccentric, isometric, and concentric. Placing more attention on one phase can yield ...