QO-40 potently enhances KCNQ channels. It has the ability to decrease the firing of overactive neurons. In medicine, this compound is being used for the treatment of epilepsy and neuropathic pain. In a study conducted on chinese hamster ovary cells, QO-40 managed to shift the half-maximal activation voltage in the hyperpolarizing direction in a concentration-dependent manner1. QO-40 demonstrates EC50 value of approximately 7 µM on cloned channels and on native M-currents expressed in dorsal root ganglia neurons
