University of Arizona researchers say they are closer to developing a pain relief treatment that dramatically diminishes the danger of opioids.
The research is focused on a new compound created at UArizona’s Health Sciences department that reduces the sensation of pain by regulating a biological channel linked to pain, the university said.
The compound, called Regulonix Compound 194, can be combined with low doses of morphine and virtually eliminate its addictive qualities. That's without reducing the morphine's ability to relieve pain — something that nonaddictive alternatives have so far been unable to do.
Initial findings were published recently in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
The research team was led by Rajesh Khanna, Ph.D., associate director of the UArizona Health Sciences Comprehensive Pain and Addiction Center, professor of pharmacology in the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson and a member of the BIO5 Institute.
