With almost every medication you take, comes a price. Some side effects are worse than others. Nausea, dizziness, weight loss, weight gain, acne, blood thinning, etc. The list goes on. Meanwhile, other medications affect the body more silently through addiction. That seems to be the problem with nicotine, morphine, and other analgesics. Overuse of most pain relievers can lead to addiction.
In Dr. Daniel S. McGehee's talk at Loyola University Chicago, he presented his research on the role of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholinic receptors (nAChRs) in pain relief. In his paper "Neuronal nicotinic receptors as analgesic targets: It's a winding road", he presented evidence of nicotine being a useful analgesic, reducing acute pain in both smokers and ex-smokers. As expected though, further experimentation proved nicotine to be highly addictive and the body also grew tolerant to the drug. Dr. McGehee used his talk to explore other drugs which target nAChRs and also pointed out some of the neural substrates which contribute to the analgesic effects.
At the end of Dr. McGehee's lecture, he discussed the benefits of mu-opioid drugs as pain relievers. It just so happens that Nektar Therapeutics, an American Biopharmaceutical company, is in the works of developing a new mu-opioid, agonist drug specifically for chronic back pain. Researchers announced positive results from a Phase-3 study (which tests for efficacy and adverse reaction) of the drug NKTR-181. It was tested on 18-75 year old volunteers who suffered from moderate to severe, non-neuropathic, chronic low-back pain. Results came out to show that NKTR-181 was successful in significantly reducing chronic back pain compared to the placebo group. Patients average pain test scores dropped about 65% between the beginning of the study to the end of the study. On top of that, the study showed to have mild adverse reactions such as nausea and constipation in only some of the patients. And on a brighter note, many patients also experienced beneficial sleep outcomes, such as a greater quality of sleep with less problems throughout the night.
But the most advantageous aspect of this drug, in my humble opinion, seems to be its low-addictive qualities. It is designed to have low access across the blood-brain barrier (which effectively slows its rate of entry into the brain), which then lessens the amount of dopamine released without sacrificing the potential of pain relief. This results in more pain relief without the excess euphoria that comes with most other drugs and causes their high abuse and addiction rates.
As someone who is hoping to go into the pharmaceutical field after graduation, but HATES drugs and medication due to side effects and potential tolerance development, it is really refreshing to see the new ways scientists are working to get around this issue. Especially for something as common and uncomfortable as chronic back pain.
At the end of Dr. McGehee's lecture, he discussed the benefits of mu-opioid drugs as pain relievers. It just so happens that Nektar Therapeutics, an American Biopharmaceutical company, is in the works of developing a new mu-opioid, agonist drug specifically for chronic back pain. Researchers announced positive results from a Phase-3 study (which tests for efficacy and adverse reaction) of the drug NKTR-181. It was tested on 18-75 year old volunteers who suffered from moderate to severe, non-neuropathic, chronic low-back pain. Results came out to show that NKTR-181 was successful in significantly reducing chronic back pain compared to the placebo group. Patients average pain test scores dropped about 65% between the beginning of the study to the end of the study. On top of that, the study showed to have mild adverse reactions such as nausea and constipation in only some of the patients. And on a brighter note, many patients also experienced beneficial sleep outcomes, such as a greater quality of sleep with less problems throughout the night.
But the most advantageous aspect of this drug, in my humble opinion, seems to be its low-addictive qualities. It is designed to have low access across the blood-brain barrier (which effectively slows its rate of entry into the brain), which then lessens the amount of dopamine released without sacrificing the potential of pain relief. This results in more pain relief without the excess euphoria that comes with most other drugs and causes their high abuse and addiction rates.
As someone who is hoping to go into the pharmaceutical field after graduation, but HATES drugs and medication due to side effects and potential tolerance development, it is really refreshing to see the new ways scientists are working to get around this issue. Especially for something as common and uncomfortable as chronic back pain.
http://www.empr.com/drugs-in-the-pipeline/opioid-nktr-181-cns-severe-chronic-back-pain/article/645350/
http://www.nektar.com/pipeline/rd-pipeline/nktr-181
https://luc.app.box.com/v/neuroscienceseminar/1/15900296063/155000301974/1
https://luc.app.box.com/v/neuroscienceseminar/1/15900296063/155000301974/1
No comments:
Post a Comment