Chinese researchers raise hopes of developing less addictive painkillers
- Scientists have uncovered clues that could help develop opioids that have fewer dangerous side effects compared with drugs such as fentanyl
- Chronic pain is a serious medical problem at a time when the US is in the grip of an opioid crisis that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths
Chinese researchers hope they are a step closer to developing powerful painkillers that reduce the risk of patients becoming addicted after new research helped show the mechanisms by which opioids such as morphine and fentanyl relieve pain.
Chronic pain is a major problem in modern medicine, with more than 50 million American adults suffering, according to a report by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention from 2020. In China, an estimated 300 million people suffer from chronic pain and the number keeps growing, according to research from Tsinghua University from the same year.
The use of opioids dates back thousands of years and they are effective in treating acute and chronic pain.
But opioids can also cause serious side effects, including addiction and breathing difficulties that can prove fatal if patients overdose.
Currently the United States is grappling with an opioid crisis that has seen deaths from drug overdoses quintuple since 1999.