©Shutterstock/David SmartNew preclinical NIDA-funded research shows that a new compound, BU08028, acts on opioid and non-opioid brain receptors to relieve pain without harmful side effects. In the study, primates experienced pain relief but did not become dependent upon BU08028, and in fact, found it less rewarding than cocaine and two different opioids.
The research also showed that doses of the compound 10-30 times higher than necessary for pain relief did not slow breathing or affect the heart—side effects that can typically lead to overdose death when opioids are misused. The new compound was made possible by recent advances in medicinal chemistry.
This research could provide relief for the approximately 100 million Americans suffering from chronic pain, while avoiding the serious health consequences of opioid misuse.
For a copy of the paper, "A novel orvinol analog BU08028 as a safe opioid analgesic without abuse liability in primates" published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, go to http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/08/24/1605295113.
For information about NIH-supported research on effective pain treatment, go to: www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/pain.
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