JUPITER, FL -- Scripps Florida scientists have been awarded $3.1 million by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, to study and develop several new compounds that could prove to be effective in controlling pain without the unwanted side effects common with opiate drugs, such as morphine, Oxycontin, and Vicoden.
Laura Bohn, an associate professor in the Department of Molecular Therapeutics and Neuroscience at Scripps Research, and Thomas Bannister, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and associate scientific director in the Translational Research Institute at Scripps Research, will serve as joint principal investigators for the new five-year study.
Their study will focus on four new classes of compounds that appear to differ fundamentally from opiates in the side effects that they can produce.
"Once we more fully understand how these compounds work, we expect to optimize and develop them as novel drugs," said Bohn. "We hope to produce potent pain relievers without the problems associated with current treatments."
The adverse side effects of morphine and other opiate drugs can range from the uncomfortable (constipation) to the dangerous (addiction, respiratory suppression, and death by overdose).
While the new compounds bind and activate the same receptor as morphinethe mu opioid receptor or MORthey do so in a way that avoids recruiting the protein beta arrestin 2. Genetic studies have shown that animal models lacking beta-arrestins experience robust pain relief with diminished side effects.
In an encouraging sign for further development, compounds in the four chemical classes have already been synthesized by Bannister's medicinal chemistry group.
"We designed compounds intended to have biological activity in the brain," said Bannister. "While we expected to find pain relievers, we were thrilled to see that some compounds also had the chemical an
'/>"/>
| Contact: Mika Ono mikaono@scripps.edu 858-784-2052 Scripps Research Institute Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Scripps research team solves structure of beneficial virus
2. Scripps research team sheds light on immune system suppression
3. Scripps Florida scientists awarded $1.5M to fight major water and food parasites
4. Scripps research scientists identify compounds for stem-cell production from adult cells
5. Scripps research scientists identify blood component that turns bacteria virulent
6. Scripps research team defines new painkilling chemical pathway
7. Dolphin population stunted by fishing activities, Scripps/NOAA study finds
8. Scripps Research scientists shed light on how DNA is unwound so that its code can be read
9. Scripps scientists develop first examples of RNA that replicates itself indefinitely
10. Scripps scientists create first crystal structure of an intermediate particle in virus assembly
11. Historical photographs expose decline in Floridas reef fish, new Scripps study finds
 |
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |