Opioids effectively relieve pain, but can nevertheless lead to dramatic outcomes. For years, the dangerous side effects of powerful analgesics such as fentanyl, morphine or tramadol have mobilized the scientific community and public authorities (cf. framed). Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have made an important breakthrough in this area, the alma mater announced on Wednesday. One of his teams discovered molecules (called NbE nanobodies) capable of blocking these side effects, which range from dizziness to fatal respiratory depression.
Problem: these nanobodies remain “quite bulky” and their production is “relatively expensive”, explains UNIGE. Never mind. In collaboration with a team from the University of Brussels, Geneva researchers created even smaller molecules in vitro. “They have the potential to reverse or reduce the harmful side effects of opioids,” emphasizes research coordinator Miriam Stoeber, associate professor in the Department of Cellular Physiology and Metabolism at the alma mater. And, adds the scientist, “they should also be much cheaper to produce”. However, you will have to wait before their arrival on the market. “It will not be for fifteen years, because there are still many clinical trials to be carried out.”
The results of the research carried out by the Geneva team were published in the journal “Nature Communications”.
