Opioids such as Morphine used to treat acute as well as chronic pain are limited in their effect due to a rising percent of people suffering from side effect or not responding to the drug effectively. Professor Luda Diatchenko has said that one third of patients treated with opioids develop substantial side effects with an additional 10-fold difference in the response to the drug show by patients.
A study published in the Human Molecular Genetics journal has indentifies further genetic variation in the receptor gene that produces the OPRM1 receptor than researchers were previously aware of. Diatchenko explained that “genetic variations in this receptor play a crucial role in individual responsiveness to these drugs, but we currently have very little understanding of its genetic structures and molecular and cellular mechanisms.”
Researchers like Diatchenko are hoping that long-term implications of the findings may include the development of drugs that have characteristics of greater pain relive and offer fewer side effects. Also the manipulation of drugs to suit an individual’s needs are being investigated along with genetic tests aimed to predict an individual’s response to the opioid.
This study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health. Co-auther o the study Professor William Maicner D.D.S., Ph.D. stated that, “The outcomes of these studies are very exciting and are likely to lead to new diagnostic tests that will permit clinicians to predict a patient’s risk for inadequate or adverse responses to Opioids.”he continued to state, “outcomes may also enable the development of a new class of opioids that are safer and more effective than those currently available,” The world of pharmaceutical drugs is constantly progressing in the hope to improve the health system and bring maximum ressults for patients.
by: Chloe Woodrow
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/unc-study-findings-have-implications-for-development-of-pain-relieving-drugs.html
