Gene expression of the HCN family in rats with pilocarpine-induced epilepsy and in human hippocampal and cortical tissue.

BACKGROUND: Epilepsy is a chronic pathophysiological syndrome defined by excessive and recurrent neuronal electrical discharges in the brain, affecting approximately 0.8% of the global population. The concept of channelopathy emerges as a fundamental basis for this dysfunction, involving failures in voltage-gated ion channels. Among these, hyperpolarization-activated cation channels (HCN), encoded by the HCN1-4 genes, are unique due to their pacemaker function and sensitivity to abnormal electri...