Pharmacology of Pain: Mechanisms and Drug Targets

In course

Description

This lecture covers the pharmacology of pain, focusing on the four steps in pain sensation: transduction, conduction, transmission/modulation, and perception. It discusses the mechanisms of transduction, sensitizing agents, central and peripheral sensitization, opioid receptor agonists, actions of NSAIDs, and migraine therapy. The instructor explains the different downstream signaling pathways of u opioid receptor agonists and approaches for treating neuropathic pain.

Instructor

Official source

https://mediaspace.epfl.ch/media/0_2am165is

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Related concepts (103)

Nociplastic pain

Nociplastic pain or central sensitisation is a type of pain which is mechanically different from the normal nociceptive pain caused by inflammation and tissue damage or the neuropathic pain which results from nerve damage. It may occur in combination with the other types of pain or in isolation. Its location may be generalised or multifocal and it can be more intense than would be expected from any associated physical cause.

Opioid

Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically they are primarily used for pain relief, including anesthesia. Other medical uses include suppression of diarrhea, replacement therapy for opioid use disorder, reversing opioid overdose, and suppressing cough. Extremely potent opioids such as carfentanil are approved only for veterinary use. Opioids are also frequently used non-medically for their euphoric effects or to prevent withdrawal.

Neurotransmitter

A neurotransmitter is a signaling molecule secreted by a neuron to affect another cell across a synapse. The cell receiving the signal, or target cell, may be another neuron, but could also be a gland or muscle cell. Neurotransmitters are released from synaptic vesicles into the synaptic cleft where they are able to interact with neurotransmitter receptors on the target cell. The neurotransmitter's effect on the target cell is determined by the receptor it binds to.

Pain

Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage." Pain motivates organisms to withdraw from damaging situations, to protect a damaged body part while it heals, and to avoid similar experiences in the future.

Κ-opioid receptor

The κ-opioid receptor or kappa opioid receptor, abbreviated KOR or KOP for its ligand ketazocine, is a G protein-coupled receptor that in humans is encoded by the OPRK1 gene. The KOR is coupled to the G protein Gi/G0 and is one of four related receptors that bind opioid-like compounds in the brain and are responsible for mediating the effects of these compounds. These effects include altering nociception, consciousness, motor control, and mood. Dysregulation of this receptor system has been implicated in alcohol and drug addiction.