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A new type of painkiller could one day deliver morphine-level relief without opioid addiction. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Weill Cornell Medicine built an experimental opioid compound that’s switched on and off with light. Doing so activates pain relief while keeping the drug out of the brain. The findings are preclinical. But they …
Light Activated Opioid Could Reduce Opioid Addiction Risk
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A new type of painkiller could one day deliver morphine-level relief without opioid addiction. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Weill Cornell Medicine built an experimental opioid compound that’s switched on and off with light. Doing so activates pain relief while keeping the drug out of the brain.
The findings are preclinical. But they address how the same aspects that make opioids effectively also drive tolerance, dependence and fatal breathing suppression.
Light Activated Opioid Works
The team was led by Penn chemist and pharmacologist Dirk Trauner and Dr. Joshua Levitz at Weill Cornell Medicine. They engineered a morphine-based compound called AM-3. AM-3 changes shape when exposed to specific frequencies of light. Different lights don’t have the same effect on the mu-opioid receptor, the primary target of opioid painkillers.
In preclinical pain models for bone cancer pain and visceral pain, the researchers injected AM-3 and briefly illuminated the pain site with UV light. The result was morphine-like pain relief with reduced or no signs of tolerance or other side effects. AM-3 doesn’t easily impact the brain, which limits the chance of addiction and respiratory suppression.
The current version uses ultraviolet light that hurts skin and eyes. Trauner is working on newer molecules that respond to visible light, ideally red light, to penetrate tissue more deeply.
“It would be terrible if we would deprive people suffering from debilitating pain from opioids, because they’re too important and effective for that. Yet, you want to make them safer.”
Shining a Light on Opioids
Opioids are a class of drugs that includes prescriptions and street drugs. Regular use can lead to physical dependence within weeks, and opioid addiction can develop even when a medication is taken as prescribed. Risk rises with dose, duration and any history of a substance use disorder.
The stakes are easy to state. More than 40,000 Americans died from overdoses involving opioids last year. Most deaths come from fentanyl and is often mixed in counterfeit pills and other drugs without the user’s knowledge.
Regular opioids like codeine and fentanyl activate mu-opioid receptors in the brain, spinal column, peripheral nerves and gut. Doing so produces relief but can lead to chronic opioid abuse and accidental overdoses.
A compound that works only where light is applied would separate the benefit from the harm for the first time.
More Harm Reduction
Photopharmacology might take years to develop. Fortunately, you can find help right now.
- Naloxone reverses opioid overdoses and is available without a prescription in most states.
- Medications for opioid use disorder cut overdose deaths and help folks stay in recovery.
- And NA meetings remain open to anyone with a desire to quit drugs.
NA Shines Through
NA chapters are local, free and made up of your peers. You can find a shoulder to lean on and share experiences if you want to talk. The fellowship can last a lifetime.
Getting started with NA is simpler with our directory. Browse our listings online to find a group in any city in the USA. You can also dial 800-934-1582(Sponsored) to chat with an expert.
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