Opiate alternative researchers are discovering new effective and non-addictive painkillers

UKH-1114 can be used effectively for pain relief
Today, there is more and more abuse of so-called opioid analgesics. In the US, doctors are already talking about a true abuse epidemic. Researchers have now discovered a painkiller that works in a hitherto completely unknown way against pain. The drug can be used for pain relief of neuropathic pain.

The University of Texas scientists at Austin found in their study that a new drug called UKH-1114 can be used effectively to relieve pain without triggering comparable adverse effects as opioids. In the future, dependence on opioids and their abuse could be prevented. The doctors published a press release on the results of their study.

The use of painkillers can lead sufferers into the addiction. There are millions of people around the world who depend on painkillers with opioids. Physicians now found a new painkiller that is very effective, long-acting and does not make it dependent. (Image: lovegtr35 / fotolia.com)

UKH-1114 works at a very low dose and the effect lasts a long time
The analgesic UKH-1114 is also effective in relieving neuropathic pain in injured mice, such as a widely used pain reliever called gabapentin, the experts explain. However, UKH-1114 works at a much lower dose and the effect lasts longer.

Millions of people are addicted to opioid analgesics
If further studies can confirm that the new drug is safe and effective without being addictive, this could help stop the epidemic of abuse, the researchers said. In America alone, about one third of people suffer from chronic pain. However, the most effective painkillers are addictive and require an increasing dosage to be effective over a longer period of time, say the authors. About two million people in the US are suffering from addiction to prescription opioid analgesics.

Other medications used to treat neuropathic pain often cause side effects
The alternatives available to date for treatment with opioids also have some disadvantages. For example, the drug gabapentin (sold under the name Neurontin) may cause cognitive impairment in certain individuals. Such side effects indicate that it is necessary to develop a treatment for neuropathic pain that is not based on opioids, the researchers explain. The newly discovered analgesic binds to a receptor on the cells throughout the central nervous system called the sigma 2 receptor. Although the receptor was discovered 25 years ago, researchers have not yet known exactly what Sigma 2 does.

Benefits of UKH-1114 over other painkillers
The physicians tested UKH-1114 on mice with nerve damage. They found that the drug relieved pain as effectively as gabapentin, but at a much lower dose (about one-sixth of gabapentin). The effect of UKH-1114 also lasted a few days longer than the duration of gabapentin, which was only four to six hours.

Neuropathic pain can also be triggered by chemo and diabetes
Thus, the sigma-2 receptor may be a target for the treatment of neuropathic pain, say the experts. So-called neuropathic pain or chronic pain occurs when nerves in the central nervous system are damaged. This type of pain can also be triggered by chemo, diabetes and brain injury or spinal cord injury, the researchers add.

Further research is needed
However, much work remains to be done before UKH-1114 can be launched, the researchers emphasize. Further studies are needed to demonstrate safety, efficacy and oral bioavailability, the authors of the study explain. In addition, scientists are currently investigating how exactly activation of the sigma 2 receptor relieves neuropathic pain. The doctors are only just beginning their research, but it is already anticipated that the discovery of a new painkiller can significantly improve people's quality of life. (As)