Scientists have made a step forward in the search for painkillers, which would not cause physical dependence and give the powerful effect. Thus, they hope to cope with America gripped by the epidemic of opioid dependence.
America suffers from the most severe epidemic of opioid addiction in the history, where every month kills tens of thousands of people taking prescription painkillers or drugs. Many of these people initially did not aspire to become addicts, they are faced with chronic pain, for which treatment they were prescribed medication for opioid basis. Of course, there are analgesics that do not cause drug dependence, but their effect is not comparable to morphine or vicodin. That is why American scientists are so aggressively looking for new drugs which would relieve from severe pain without risk of addiction.
A group of researchers from Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina believe they’ve discovered a component that may become an alternative to current prescription opioids. In the course of this study, the researchers wanted to develop a drug that would affect two receptor opioid system that controls pain, and promote dependence. It was about the mu opioid receptor, and the receptor nociceptin. The first controls the feeling of euphoria and pain relief, but the side effects it causes depression and physical dependence. The second blocks many of the side effects of mu opioids, as the stimulation he aimed it at mu receptors and controls the stress.
Scientists have developed a substance called AT-121, which exerts a dual action on both receptors. Appropriate strategy will be a combination of two drugs. Testing with primates has shown that a new drug reduces the level of pain is not worse than opioids, with dosage 100 times less than required for the repetition of this effect doses of morphine. (READ MORE)