Given the absence of approved pharmacotherapies for methamphetamine (meth) use disorder (MUD), compounds that co-activate NOP and μ-opioid receptors are being explored as a potential therapeutic ...

The National Center of Neurology and Tokyo University of Science in Japan have jointly developed new μ-opioid receptor antagonists potentially useful for the treatment of opioid dependence.

Effective pain relief without the debilitating side effects of traditional opioids is closer to becoming a reality thanks to a study by an all-RIKEN team into the structure and dynamics of a ...

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 ...

Opioid medications offer people relief from debilitating pain, but these drugs are associated with the risk for addiction, miserable withdrawal symptoms and the potential for fatal overdose.

A novel compound strongly improves the efficacy of naloxone, the substance used to reverse overdoses of morphine, fentanyl and other opioid drugs. When administered to mice along with naloxone, it is ...

Opioid receptors are proteins in the nervous system that interact with opioids. Opioid receptors are part of the endogenous opioid system. This is the body’s internal system for regulating pain, ...

A new review maps how the kappa-opioid receptor/dynorphin system acts as a circuit-specific switch in the brain's fear and ...

Naloxone (also known as Narcan, the commonly used drug to treat narcotic overdoses) has greater binding to opioid receptors in women's brains than in men's brains, according to new research published ...

Opioids slot into opioid receptors and activate them. This sends signals to your brain to relieve pain and promote pleasure. Both endogenous opioids, which your body naturally produces, and exogenous ...