The researchers said the sodium in salt may be the “secret ingredient” in developing safer opioids for pain relief.
The scientific journal “Nature”, which published the research results, stated that opioid overdose claimed the lives of nearly 70,000 Americans in 2020, most of which were attributed to synthetic painkillers and fentanyl.
The US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of “fentanyl” for cancer patients suffering from severe and persistent pain in the nineties of the last century, but the drug found its way to the streets, where it is abused and distributed illegally.
The lead author of the study, Vsevolod Katrich, likened fentanyl to a “weapon of mass destruction,” explaining: “Our research shows that we can redesign the drug in such a way that we turn this killer into a safer painkiller while maintaining its effectiveness.”
How do opioids affect the body?
- Katrich and his team have studied the potential of sodium to produce safer drugs since they first found it at adenosine and opioid receptors more than 10 years ago.
- The latest molecular-focused research done on mice supports their views that sodium can prevent the harmful effects of opioid medications.
- Drug manufacturers design painkillers to target specific receptors on nerve cells called GPCRs, or G protein-coupled receptors, that act as signal transmitters.
- These receptors act like the switches that help the drug work as intended for the brain and body.
- Unfortunately, they can also cause unwanted side effects. Fentanyl, one of the strongest and most dangerous opioids available, can be addictive or cause fatal overdoses that stop breathing.
- According to author Susruta Majumdar of the University of Washington: “We are looking for ways to maintain the analgesic effects of opioids, while avoiding serious side effects such as addiction and shortness of breath that often leads to death. Our research is still in its infancy, but we are excited about its potential for access.” to safer pain relievers.
While Katrich and the team agree that their findings regarding sodium are strong, they also stress that more study is needed before they can prove that this produces a less harmful but effective alternative to fentanyl and other medications.
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