Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 119, No. 16 (April 19, 2022), pp. 1-10 (10 pages) Allosteric modulators of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) ...

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 ...

Thousands of people around the world die every day from overdoses involving opioids such as fentanyl. Drugs that target opioid receptors sometimes have severe side effects. An international team of ...

Visual Abstract. Whole-body [11C] carfentanil PET imaging at baseline (left side of panel) and then following naloxone (middle panel) shows μ-opioid receptor (MOR) in the brain (color) and throughout ...

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 ...

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 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.

Researchers at USF Health have discovered a new way opioid receptors can work that may lead to safer pain medications. Their findings show that certain experimental compounds can amplify pain relief ...

Researchers at USF Health are making dramatic strides in understanding how new opioid compounds work inside the body to provide pain relief, offering greater hope that new classes of these drugs may ...