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Articles on Pain relief

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Opioid neurotransmitters are located in many areas of the body, including the brain, spine and gut. ALIOUI Mohammed Elamine/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Your body naturally produces opioids without causing addiction or overdose – studying how this process works could help reduce the side effects of opioid drugs

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.
The cannabis plant produces both THC – the psychoactive component in marijuana – and the compound commonly known as CBD, which does not lead to a ‘high.’ Jena Ardell/Moment via Getty Images

Cannabis holds promise for pain management, reducing the need for opioid painkillers – a neuropharmacology expert explains how

Studies suggest that marijuana and CBD use might help relieve chronic pain while also reducing a patient’s need for opioids.
Exercise spurs the release of the body’s natural cannabinoids, which have myriad benefits for mental health and stress relief. Luca Sage/Stone via Getty Images

The ‘runner’s high’ may result from molecules called cannabinoids – the body’s own version of THC and CBD

A growing body of research points to the body’s natural cannabinoid system as the primary driver behind the runner’s high – and the mental health boost and stress relief following exercise.
One potential way to make opioids less addictive is to make them target injured tissue rather than the healthy brain. PM Images/Photodisk via Getty Images

Designing less addictive opioids, through chemistry

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.
The Spike protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 must bind to proteins on the surface of human cells to trigger an infection. KTSDESIGN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images

A second pathway into cells for SARS-CoV-2: New understanding of the neuropilin-1 protein could speed vaccine research

Scientists in the UK and Germany discovered a new doorway that the COVID-19 virus uses to infect human cells. This reveals new therapeutic possibilities for blocking the virus.

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