Opioid neurotransmitters are located in many areas of the body, including the brain, spine and gut.
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Unlike opioid drugs like morphine and fentanyl that travel throughout the body, the opioids your body produces are released in small quantities to specific locations.
‘Sensitisation’ can affect anyone, but some people may be more prone to it than others due to genetic factors, environmental factors or previous experiences.
One potential way to make opioids less addictive is to make them target injured tissue rather than the healthy brain.
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While the COVID-19 pandemic raged on, the opioid epidemic got worse as drug overdose deaths soared. New research proposes a way to chemically modify opioids to reduce the risk of addiction.
Small but fierce: Grasshopper mice can eat prey that are toxic to other mice.
Lauren Koenig
The SARS-CoV-2 virus usually infects the body via the ACE2 protein. But there is another entry point that allows the virus to infect the nervous system and block pain perception.
It’s very difficult to separate anxiety and fear from the experience of pain linked with actual physical damage.
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