Opioid receptors are proteins in the nervous system that interact with opioids. Opioid receptors are part of the endogenous opioid system. This is the body’s internal system for regulating pain, ...

Two different versions of the mu-opioid receptor within a cellular membrane illustrate how the receptor changes its conformation to send a signal into the cell. Scientists captured six high-resolution ...

Kappa-opioid receptor (KOR) agonists represent a promising class of compounds that modulate pain, mood and various neurobehavioural processes. Unlike traditional opioids that primarily target the ...

Drugs that target opioid receptors sometimes have severe side effects. Thousands of people around the world die every day from overdoses involving opioids such as fentanyl. Researchers have taken a ...

Researchers identified the structure of an opioid receptor in the brain during active engagement with a drug molecule. The discovery could facilitate the creation of safer and more effective opioid ...

Knowing that naloxone works by stalling the µ-opioid receptor in an early, latent state suggests that molecules that can bind more tightly or more selectively to this form of the receptor could be ...

Scientists have known for decades that opioids relieve pain by binding to molecular switches in the brain called mu-opioid (pronounced "mew-opioid") receptors. What they didn't know - until now - was ...

Opioid medications offer people relief from debilitating pain, but these drugs come with dangers: the risk for addiction, miserable withdrawal symptoms and the potential for fatal overdose.

An experimental drug developed at Duke University School of Medicine could offer powerful pain relief without the dangerous side effects of opioids. The drug, called SBI-810, is part of a new ...

Opioids slot into opioid receptors and activate them. This sends signals to your brain to relieve pain and promote pleasure. Both endogenous opioids, which your body naturally produces, and exogenous ...