Two different versions of the mu-opioid receptor within a cellular membrane illustrate how the receptor changes its conformation to send a signal into the cell. Scientists captured six high-resolution ...

Scientists have known for decades that opioids relieve pain by binding to molecular switches in the brain called mu-opioid receptors. What they didn't know—until now—was exactly what happens next. A ...

This confocal microscope image shows midbrain neurons (red) co-expressing the mu-opioid receptor (Oprm1, white) and cannabinoid receptor 1 (Cnr1, green). The interaction of these two reward pathways ...

Scientists have known for decades that opioids relieve pain by binding to molecular switches in the brain called mu-opioid (pronounced "mew-opioid") receptors. What they didn't know - until now - was ...

Brandy Schillace’s review of “Candace Pert” by Pamela Rykman (Bookshelf, Nov. 15) contains a questionable conclusion: the discovery of the mu opioid receptor in 1972 “helped launch the opioid crisis” ...

Opioids, like the commonly prescribed pain reliever oxycodone, are known for being highly addictive. In 2022, nearly 85,000 people died from an opioid overdose in the U.S., according to the Centers ...

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show there were about 107,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2023. Of those, about 75%, or 81,000, involved opioids. With the aim ...

Opioids are some of the oldest known treatments for pain relief, but they can cause serious side effects. A team of researchers including Susruta Majumdar, a medicinal chemist and pharmacologist at ...

Neuropeptides are brain and body signaling molecules that shape emotion, pain, metabolism, cognition, and immune function.