Dynorphin A activates bradykinin receptors to maintain neuropathic pain
Opioids usually alleviate pain by acting at opiate receptors, but this study now reports that the opioid dynorphin A can also activate bradykinin receptors, thereby contributing to neuropathic pain.
Very interesting! Some kind of ‘gating’ or a ‘permissive’ pathway may be behind this. Curiously, drugs curing fever (aspirin) cause fever (pyrexia) themselves and antimalignancy compounds are themselves carcinogenic.