Concern has recently arisen about the potential adverse effects of excessive calcium intakes, i.e., calcium loading from supplements, on arterial calcification and risks of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in older adults. Published reports that high calcium intakes in free-living adults have relatively little or no beneficial impact on bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture rates suggest that cu...

1. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings were used to study voltage-dependent facilitation of Ca2+ currents and excessive Ca2+ tail current in skeletal myoballs cultured from wild-type and transgenic mice expressing a null mutation of the ryanodine receptor (RyR) type 1 (dyspedic myoballs). 2. Ca2+ current density in dyspedic myoballs was reduced by about 60% compared with wild-type cells, with dih...