
New class of painkiller found in a mud sample - jedroos
https://imb.uq.edu.au/article/2019/10/new-class-painkiller-found-mud
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bloopernova
As someone in constant severe pain, I hope that this new drug is as potent and
harmless as they hypothesize.

I often read about new and wondrous painkillers, and never hear about them
again after that initial flurry of journalistic over excitement. They
disappear in much the same way as the various cures for cancer that have been
hyped over the years.

I desperately hope that one of these wonder-painkillers will make it to market
within my lifetime.

~~~
nannal
As someone overly familiar with cancer, my hopes could be higher, this will
inevitably turn out to be only applicable in a small number of cases a decade
and a half from now

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tyingq
It mentions not having the typical side effects of opiates like addiction,
respiratory depression, tolerance, etc.

I'm curious, though, if it induces euphoria like opiates do.

~~~
jey
They actually didn’t even say that. It’s pure speculation, as is common in
science journalism. It makes the article sound more exciting to the reader.

~~~
tyingq
The direct quote from the main paper author seems to say that indirectly: _"
if this proves successful and leads to a new medication, it will significantly
reduce the risk of death by overdose from opioid medications such as
codeine.”_

~~~
npo9
That’s because it theoretically has less side effects of the repository system
— the fatal part of an opioid overdose.

~~~
slowmovintarget
Right, they simply say "it has the opposite bias" for additional reactions,
but we have no idea what "opposite bias" will result in. The side effects
could be seizure and anaphylaxis instead of respiratory depression and
addiction.

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GordonS
So, I'm not an expert, and haven't read the paper linked to in the article
yet, but I think this is an opioid that doesn't recruit beta-arrestin?

If so, that's not really a new class of drug - it's still an opioid, albeit
one with less side effects. It will still induce euphoria and have abuse
potential; perhaps even _more_ abuse potential, as the risk of dying from
respiratory depression is much lower.

It's also not the first opioid having this property - mitragynine and 7-OH-
mitragynine the main opioid alkaloids in kratom) also don't recruit beta-
arrestin.

~~~
taxidump
Kratom is not an opioid.

[https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/kratom-fear-worthy-
folia...](https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/kratom-fear-worthy-foliage-or-
beneficial-botanical-2019080717466)

~~~
GordonS
It binds to opioid receptors - it _is_ an opioid.

I realise it's convenient for some kratom supporters to claim otherwise, but I
am also a kratom supporter and believe this kind of obvious misinformation
harms, rather than furthers the cause.

~~~
GordonS
I can't edit my post, but to be clear, kratom itself obviously isn't an
opioid, but it _contains_ opioid alkaloids.

~~~
loeg
Yep. But the same is more or less true of many pharmaceutical opioid
preparations — they may contain paracetamol, binder, or filler in addition to
the active opioid compound (e.g., Vicodin). I think it's fair to call the
broad category "opioids."

~~~
GordonS
Absolutely, my updated comment was merely a guard against expected pedantry :)

~~~
loeg
Totally reasonable! It seems I was that kind of pedant anyway. I'm sorry. :-)

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fnord77
when I search for "Bilorphin" or "bilaids" all I can find are a bunch of
"news" articles that point back to this site.

~~~
tyingq
They coined the term ( _" which we named the bilaids"_), and the paper is
pretty recent
([https://www.pnas.org/content/116/44/22353](https://www.pnas.org/content/116/44/22353)),
so that seems expected.

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JackFr
American high school football coaches who told you to “rub some dirt on it”
when you were hurt finally vindicated by science.

~~~
cududa
Well... at my old high school the coaches would slip opioids into players bags
before games so they could play through pain.

BBC did a documentary on my home town, nearly 8% of my graduating class have
died from over doses
[https://youtu.be/j7ynJ5S9c58](https://youtu.be/j7ynJ5S9c58)

~~~
dessant
Are the coaches in prison?

~~~
cududa
I wish.

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social_quotient
The saying “happy as a pig in mud” might have a root cause.

