6 ms·
New class of painkiller found in a mud sample
- tyingq 7y agoIt mentions not having the typical side effects of opiates like addiction, respiratory depression, tolerance, etc. I'm curious, though, if it induces euphoria like opiates do.
- ericlewis 7y agoThis was also my curiosity. These sorts of medications are abused for their pain relief properties, but also the whole euphoria thing is a pretty big equation too.
- jey 7y agoThey actually didn’t even say that. It’s pure speculation, as is common in science journalism. It makes the article sound more exciting to the reader.
- tyingq 7y agoThe direct quote from the main paper author seems to say that indirectly: "if this proves successful and leads to a new medication, it will significantly reduce the risk of death by overdose from opioid medications such as codeine.”
- npo9 7y agoThat’s because it theoretically has less side effects of the repository system — the fatal part of an opioid overdose.
- slowmovintarget 7y agoRight, they simply say "it has the opposite bias" for additional reactions, but we have no idea what "opposite bias" will result in. The side effects could be seizure and anaphylaxis instead of respiratory depression and addiction.
- loeg 7y agoIt's a pretty huge "if" and completely speculative theory.
- 0xffff2 7y agoThis is not even journalism; it's just a press release from the university.
- fnord77 7y agowhen I search for "Bilorphin" or "bilaids" all I can find are a bunch of "news" articles that point back to this site.
- tyingq 7y agoThey coined the term ("which we named the bilaids"), and the paper is pretty recent (https://www.pnas.org/content/116/44/22353 https://www.pnas.org/content/116/44/22353), so that seems expected.
- JackFr 7y agoAmerican high school football coaches who told you to “rub some dirt on it” when you were hurt finally vindicated by science.
- gexla 7y agoThis was the reason I ate mud when I was a kid. I was just a young junkie. And I was invincible.
- 3fe9a03ccd14ca5 7y agoThere’s a reason why toddlers have an insatiable desire to put everything in their mouths for about a year. Do you think nature would evolve that trait if it wasn’t beneficial?
- Aloha 7y agoIndeed, its part of how we grow our gut biome, and train our immune system what will and won't kill us. There have been several studies that point out that over sterile environments for babies has a direct correlation with allergies in later life.
- Narishma 7y ago> Do you think nature would evolve that trait if it wasn’t beneficial? Yes? I mean that happens all the time. Just because a trait isn't useful doesn't mean it will disappear. Sometimes it will stay even if it's harmful as long as it doesn't kill the individual before they reproduce.
- HeadsUpHigh 7y agoA harmful trait that appears in adolescence would disappear because it would kill you before reproductive age.
- x0 7y agoOnly if it's harmful enough to kill you. There's plenty of negative traits in nature that only exist because they weren't bad enough to stop reproduction.
- GordonS 7y agoSo, I'm not an expert, and haven't read the paper linked to in the article yet, but I think this is an opioid that doesn't recruit beta-arrestin? If so, that's not really a new class of drug - it's still an opioid, albeit one with less side effects. It will still induce euphoria and have abuse potential; perhaps even more abuse potential, as the risk of dying from respiratory depression is much lower. It's also not the first opioid having this property - mitragynine and 7-OH-mitragynine the main opioid alkaloids in kratom) also don't recruit beta-arrestin.
- taxidump 7y agoKratom is not an opioid. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/kratom-fear-worthy-foliage-or-beneficial-botanical-2019080717466 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/kratom-fear-worthy-folia...
- loeg 7y agoHow isn't it? > Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors[1] From your link[2]: > The two main chemicals, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, have strong activity at the main opioid receptor, the “mu” receptor, which is the same one stimulated by heroin and oxycodone. It's not an opiate, which is just the subset of opioids derived from the opium poppy. But neither are many pharmaceutical opioids. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opioid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opioid [2]: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/kratom-fear-worthy-foliage-or-beneficial-botanical-2019080717466 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/kratom-fear-worthy-folia...
- GordonS 7y agoIt binds to opioid receptors - it is an opioid. I realise it's convenient for some kratom supporters to claim otherwise, but I am also a kratom supporter and believe this kind of obvious misinformation harms, rather than furthers the cause.
- GordonS 7y agoI can't edit my post, but to be clear, kratom itself obviously isn't an opioid, but it contains opioid alkaloids.
- social_quotient 7y agoThe saying “happy as a pig in mud” might have a root cause.
- bloopernova 7y agoAs someone in constant severe pain, I hope that this new drug is as potent and harmless as they hypothesize. I often read about new and wondrous painkillers, and never hear about them again after that initial flurry of journalistic over excitement. They disappear in much the same way as the various cures for cancer that have been hyped over the years. I desperately hope that one of these wonder-painkillers will make it to market within my lifetime.
- nannal 7y agoAs someone overly familiar with cancer, my hopes could be higher, this will inevitably turn out to be only applicable in a small number of cases a decade and a half from now