"New Insights Into Opioid Drug Activation Pave The Way For New Therapeutics"
Mount Sinai researchers have identified unique structural, biological and chemical insights in the way different opioid drugs activate the receptors and specific signaling pathways responsible for the drug's beneficial and adverse effects. Opioid overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. The findings of this study may provide a blueprint for designing improved painkillers. "These new insights will provide a roadmap to develop a new class of drugs that are non-addictive and less harmful for patients," said lead investigator, Marta Filizola, PhD, professor of pharmacological sciences and neuroscience and dean of the graduate school of biomedical sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "These insights may help us engineer new painkillers with reduced side effects, particularly respiratory depression. An alternative, non-addictive medication for chronic pain will help us combat the ongoing national crisis of addiction to opioid drugs and the devastating overdose epidemic deriving from it."
- Marta Filizola, PhD, Professor, Pharmacological Sciences, Neuroscience, Dean, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai