Protein isoform inhibitors may hold the key to making opioids safer
Researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences identified a new way to make opioids safer, increasing the pain-relieving properties of opioids while decreasing unwanted side effects through the spinal inhibition of a Heat shock protein 90 isoform. Opioids are the gold standard of chronic pain treatment, but they come with a host of negative side effects including constipation, addiction potential and respiratory depression that can lead to death. This study, published in Scientific Reports, offers a potential new way to treat acute and chronic pain by reducing the amount of opioid needed for pain relief while also lowering its addiction potential. “We have been investigating the role of Heat shock protein 90 in regulating opioid signaling in the spinal cord for some time,” said John Streicher, PhD, member of the Comprehensive Center for Pain & Addiction at UArizona Health…

