Medical research

Scientists take a big step toward building a better opioid

For the first time, scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and collaborators solved the crystal structure of the activated kappa opioid receptor bound to a morphine derivative. They then created ...

Medications

Researchers identify source of opioids' side effects

A commercially available drug may help drastically reduce two side effects of opioid painkillers—a growing tolerance and a paradoxical increased sensitivity to pain—without affecting the drugs' ability to reduce pain, ...

Neuroscience

Sex differences found in brain mechanisms important for learning

(Medical Xpress)—Women tend to become addicted to drugs and relapse faster than men, though the biological reasons are not completely clear. Now, investigators at the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research and ...

Medical research

Researchers design variant of main painkiller receptor

Opioids, such as morphine, are still the most effective class of painkillers, but they come with unwanted side effects and can also be addictive and deadly at high doses. Designing new pain-killing drugs of this type involves ...

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