This Flower May Replace Opiates

A new publication has identified a molecule found in the pinwheel flower that may result in a new way to treat moderate to severe pain — the kinds of pain that drugs like oxycodone and fentanyl are used to treat. We'll talk about the state of painkillers and why this could be an exciting discovery.

We are failing to confront addiction (my video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kReY6LDhCao&t=9s

Opioids & Itchiness: Unidirectional Cross-Activation of GRPR by MOR1D Uncouples Itch and Analgesia Induced by Opioids. (2011). Cell, 147(2), 447–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2011.08.043
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(11)01064-6

Meyrath, M., Szpakowska, M., Zeiner, J. et al. The atypical chemokine receptor ACKR3/CXCR7 is a broad-spectrum scavenger for opioid peptides. Nat Commun 11, 3033 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16664-0
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-16664-0

Szpakowska, M., Decker, A.M., Meyrath, M. et al. The natural analgesic conolidine targets the newly identified opioid scavenger ACKR3/CXCR7. Sig Transduct Target Ther 6, 209 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-021-00548-w
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-021-00548-w

Bergese S, Berkowitz R, Rider P, et al. Low Incidence of Postoperative Respiratory Depression with Oliceridine Compared to Morphine: A Retrospective Chart Analysis. Pain Research & Management. 2020 ;2020:7492865. DOI: 10.1155/2020/7492865.
https://europepmc.org/article/MED/33163127

Opioids and respiratory depression: https://bjanaesthesia.org/article/S0007-0912(19)30008-X/fulltext

Empire of Pain: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/30/the-family-that-built-an-empire-of-pain

————————————————————
I'm a PhD in neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, and I think of this kind of like office hours with a teacher where you can discuss anything you find interesting.

I have a podcast, Wired to be Weird, about the brain with episodes devoted to specific topics - like why we dream & fall in love to why people develop dementia or déjà vu. You can get it wherever podcasts are found.

Here's one place: http://anthropoid.science/podcast

Do you dig the idea of a weekly live conversation about science? I certainly do! I know not everyone is in a position to support people in this way — but, if you are, here's my Patreon: https://patreon.com/anthropoid

Do you want to chat live? Check me out on Happs: https://happs.tv/invite/@Anthropoid