High-dose opioids to fight chronic pain

2012/02/02 Etxebeste Aduriz, Egoitz - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza
• Biokimika

In a research with mice, researchers at the University of Medicine of Vienna have found that with a large dose of opioids, neuronal problems related to chronic pain can be solved. The results of the research have been published in the journal Science.

One of the main causes of chronic pain is the failure of the nervous system, in which some neurons continue to transmit pain signals uninterruptedly, although there are no causes of pain. The most effective substances to fight pain are, at present, opioids (such as morphine and heroin), but the analgesic effect of opioids in small conventional doses is transitory. However, researchers have seen that the affected nerves stop transmitting the signal of pain in the mouse. According to the researchers, in these doses opioids cause the interruption of the movement of calcium ions between neurons for the transmission of signals.

In the research, the opioid remifentanyl has been used, which has given between 2 and 4 times the normal dose. Now, to know if the same occurs in humans, the first clinical trials have begun.