Membrane Physiopathology

The need to publish a comprehensive review of a number of different membrane pathologies of muscle and non-muscle cells in illnesses ranging from diabetes to heart disease and cancer lies in the fact that there are several books focusing on abnormal membrane behaviour. Since the cell membrane is the critical outer barrier of a cell, this membrane could be the first structure to be affected in some diseases. Research at the cellular level is advancing at a very rapid rate. We can now address questions such as: "How and by what mechanism does underlying membrane ion channel and receptor dysfunction lead to abnormal cell function?" and "What substances cause dysfunction of specific ion channels or receptors?" Such questions bring together the microscopic world of the cell with the macroscopic manifestation of disease. A treatise such as this should help researchers, physicians and students to better understand the relationship between cell membrane dysfunction and abnormal function of the cell and tissue.