Opioid agonist/antagonist has a big impact in phase IIb trial ...

Fentanyl, a mu-opioid receptor agonist, is one of the most commonly used analgesics in hospitals, and may induce long-lasting behavioral and somatosensory impairment in rodents. However, whether the ...

Having a pill that alleviates chronic pain without adverse side effects or the risk of addiction remains an unmet pharmaceutical need for millions of people currently using traditional opioid drugs.

Scientists have known for decades that opioids relieve pain by binding to molecular switches in the brain called mu-opioid (pronounced "mew-opioid") receptors. What they didn't know - until now - was ...

Researchers identified the structure of an opioid receptor in the brain during active engagement with a drug molecule. The discovery could facilitate the creation of safer and more effective opioid ...

Muse Treatment Alcohol & Drug Rehab Los Angeles has published a new educational resource that explains how opioid receptors function in the brain and why they play a central role in pain relief, ...

Scientists are racing to redesign how powerful painkillers work, aiming to keep the relief that opioids provide while stripping away the worst dangers of addiction and overdose. Instead of tweaking ...

Brandy Schillace’s review of “Candace Pert” by Pamela Rykman (Bookshelf, Nov. 15) contains a questionable conclusion: the discovery of the mu opioid receptor in 1972 “helped launch the opioid crisis” ...

This confocal microscope image shows midbrain neurons (red) co-expressing the mu-opioid receptor (Oprm1, white) and cannabinoid receptor 1 (Cnr1, green). The interaction of these two reward pathways ...

Julie Blendy, professor of pharmacology at University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, presented her research on the molecular and genetic mechanisms behind opioid use disorders in the ...