Researchers found that opioids offer only limited pain relief for some pain conditions, such as dental surgery and traumatic ...

The world's largest review of opioid pain relievers prescribed for acute pain found these medicines provide only small, short ...

Opioid drugs are highly effective at relieving pain but come with severe drawbacks. Their side effects range from dizziness to potentially fatal respiratory depression. Their illegal use contributes ...

Scientists are racing to redesign how powerful painkillers work, aiming to keep the relief that opioids provide while stripping away the worst dangers of addiction and overdose. Instead of tweaking ...

When choosing an opioid, the World Health Organization recommends using a systematic and graduated approach, the "analgaesic ladder," starting with non-narcotics, then changing to weak opioids and ...

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 ...

Brixadi (buprenorphine) is a brand-name injection that’s prescribed for opioid use disorder. As with other drugs, Brixadi can cause side effects, such as injection site reactions and respiratory ...

Researchers have developed a compound that relieves pain in mice but doesn't affect the brain, thereby avoiding mind-altering side effects and abuse potential. The custom-designed molecule, derived ...

Alternatives to opioids are desperately needed to better treat moderate to severe acute pain, but to date, we’ve seen few ...