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Scientist developed a non-addictive painkiller stronger than morphine but, without being accompanied by the feeling of '' euphoria'' that drive addiction. Known as AT- 121, the new chemical component has dual therapeutic function. it suppress the addictive effects of opioids and produces morphine like analgesic effects in non human primates.
Researcher found AT- 121 to be safe and non-addictive and effective pain medication as well in addiction, this compound was also effective at blocking opioids abuse. much like buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid addiction and researchers hope it could be used to treat pain and opioid abuse.
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Researchers observed that AT-121 showed the same level of pain relief as an opioid but at a 100 times lower dose than morphine. it also stopped the addictive effects of '' oxycodone'' which commonly abused prescription drug. the dual functionality of AT-121 gave effective pain relief without abuse potential. it also lacked others opioid side effects that patients typically struggle with such as itch, respiratory depression, tolerance and dependence.
The main objective of this study was to design and test a chemical compound. that would work on both the '' mu'' opioid receptor. which is the main component in the most effective prescription pain killers and the nociceptin receptor, which oppose or blocks the abuse and dependence-related side effects of mu targeted opioids. opioid pain drugs, such as fentanyl, work on the '' mu '' opioid receptor. which also produces unwanted side effects such as respiratory depression increased sensitivity to pain and physical dependence.
Researchers developed AT-121 to combine both activities in one single molecule. which they think is a better pharmaceutical strategy next steps include conducting additional preclinical studies to collect more data and begin clinical trials on humans
