Reducing addiction risk from opioid painkillers

Much of the opioid crisis lies in the central nervous system, as the same brain pathways that mediate profound pain relief also drive tolerance and dependence, which increases the risk of addiction. Penn chemist and pharmacologist Dirk Trauner and collaborators have harnessed the pain-relieving power of opioids by developing a platform that allows activity to be turned “on” or “off” with the flick of a light switch. Their findings pave the way for bypassing opioid addiction and other adverse side effects.

With evidence from human cell cultures, post-mortem brain samples and mice, MIT researchers show that the APOE4 gene variant suppresses molecular signaling needed for oligodendrocytes to myelinate neurons. They also demonstrate a proof-of-concept fix.

Brian W. Noehren, Ph.D., associate dean for research in the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences and director of the Biomotion Laboratory, was recently awarded two separate grants from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the War Department to advance the science of injury recovery. Although the studies focus on different areas of the leg — knee arthritis and ankle fractures — they are united by a common goal: improving the “health span” and quality of life for Kentuckians and beyond.