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Archive by tag | pain

05 Feb 2014 | 13:37 EST

As drug target reemerges, the question is to block or stimulate it

Posted by Cassandra Willyard | Categories: Drugs, drugs and more drugs

More than two decades ago, drugmakers searching for new hypertension medications unearthed a mysterious new cell receptor that responded to a hormone known as angiotensin II. This peptide hormone constricts blood vessels, but, oddly, blocking the so-called angiotensin II receptor type 2 (AT2) appeared to have no effect on blood pressure, so the target was largely ignored by drug developers. “Big pharma really just left the AT2 receptor by the side of the road,” says Tom McCarthy, chief executive of Spinifex Pharamceuticals, a company based in Melbourne, Australia, that is exploring the promise of targeting AT2.  Read more

Tags:

  • angiotensin
  • AT2
  • pain
  • target

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19 Sep 2013 | 15:09 EST

Months after an injury has healed, receptors involved in modulating pain remain active

Posted by Arielle Duhaime-Ross | Categories: Neuroscience/mental health

Months after an injury has healed, receptors involved in modulating pain remain active

Pain researchers know that, in the immediate aftermath of a severe injury, pain sensitization pathways become active, causing the body to produce opioids—naturally occurring chemicals that inhibit pain by activating receptors. But a mouse study published today in Science reveals that a specific type of opioid receptor found on the surface of nerve cells remains hyperactive months after an injury has healed—a period much longer than previously thought. Moreover, blocking this receptor from binding opioids can produce opioid withdrawal, much like that experienced by people addicted to heroin or codeine. This finding suggests that opioids only serve to mask underlying pain, shedding light on why some chronic nature of pain disorders.  Read more

Tags:

  • chronic pain
  • injury
  • opioid
  • pain

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10 Jan 2013 | 18:53 EST

Better labeling aimed to spur development of abuse-resistant painkillers

Posted by Kevin Jiang | Categories: Drugs, drugs and more drugs, Policy

Better labeling aimed to spur development of abuse-resistant painkillers

Prescription opioid pain relievers such as codeine and oxycodone are among the most widely abused drugs in the US. The country’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that in 2010 around 12 million Americans aged 12 or older used this class of drugs for nonmedical purposes, at a cost of up to $72.5 billion in direct healthcare expenses. Worse, the CDC estimates that around 15,000 fatalities occur each year due to overdoses from these meds, a number comparable to the total number of annual murders nationwide.  Read more

Tags:

  • opioid
  • pain
  • painkiller

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