- Researchers have identified an alternative pain control circuit in the brains of mice, one that can help effectively manage pain relief.
- Targeting this circuit helped provide pain relief similar to that of opioids without the side effects.
- Opioids are effective at managing pain, but there are many potential side effects as well as a risk of addiction, abuse, and overdose.
- Researchers plan on expanding their findings to see if they can be replicated in human test subjects.
When it comes to relieving pain, opioids are virtually unmatched.
These drugs, which act on opioid receptors in the brain and the body, pack a potent punch and can effectively manage intense pain.
The downside is the addictive nature of opioids.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the
This places doctors in a tricky spot, since prescription opioids such as hydrocodone and oxycodone are powerful tools when it comes to pain management but also create the potential for addiction, abuse, and overdose.
Now, researchers from the University of Chicago say they may have found a new way to treat pain, one that can produce a similar effect to opioids without actually using the medications.
The key is an alternative pain control pathway in the brain, one that relieves pain but does not have the associated tolerance or withdrawal symptoms.
The study, which was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, was published today in the medical journal Neuron.
Daniel McGehee, a professor of anesthesia and critical care at the University of Chicago, was the senior author of the study. He told Medical News Today that it’s important to find alternative ways to manage pain.
“A lot of [the opioid epidemic] is being driven by prescription opioids or synthetic opioids rather than the typical heroin or morphine,” he said. “These drugs…
Read the full article here