The return of the h-current: HCN1 mutations in atypical Dravet Syndrome

Hyperpolarization. More than a quarter of a century ago, physiologists identified an electrical current in neurons and cardiac myocytes that behaved so strangely that it was called the “queer” or “funny” current: it paradoxically caused depolarization upon hyperpolarization. This current was finally named h-current and is mediated by HCN channels. The h-current has been associated with epilepsy through functional studies, but a genetic link has been elusive so far. In a recent publication in Nature Genetics, de novo mutations in HCN1 are identified in patients with early-onset epileptic encephalopathies resembling Dravet Syndrome. Continue reading