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Opioid drug
An opioid is any agent that binds to opioid receptors, found principally in the central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract. There are four broad classes of opioids: endogenous opioid peptides, produced in the body; opium alkaloids, such as morphine (the prototypical opioid) and codeine; semi-synthetic opioids such as heroin and oxycodone; and fully synthetic opioids such as pethidine and methadone that have structures unrelated to the opium alkaloids. Opioids have long been used to treat acute pain (such as post-operative pain). They have also found to be invaluable in palliative care to alleviate the severe, chronic, disabling pain of terminal conditions such as cancer. Very high doses are often required in palliation to improve the patients' terminal quality-of-life.
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Mind & Brain News
June 9, 2025
June 7, 2025 — Cannabis use among older Americans has climbed dramatically, with 7% of adults 65 and older now reporting recent use. This rise isn't just in numbers but also in diversity older users today are more likely to be women, college-educated, and ...
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June 3, 2025 — The effects of artificial intelligence on adolescents are nuanced and complex, according to a new report that calls on developers to prioritize features that protect young people from exploitation, manipulation and the erosion of real-world ...
June 3, 2025 — According to a recent study, in patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), epileptic seizures are significantly more common than previously known. The discovery deepens understanding of the ...
June 3, 2025 — As psychedelics gain traction as potential treatments for mental health disorders, an international study stands to improve the rigor and reliability of clinical ...
June 2, 2025 — Marijuana use among older adults in the US has reached a new high, with 7 percent of adults aged 65 and over who report using it in the past month, according to a recent ...
June 2, 2025 — Human-AI interactions are well understood in terms of trust and companionship. However, the role of attachment and experiences in such relationships is not entirely clear. In a new breakthrough, researchers from Waseda University have devised a ...
June 2, 2025 — Despite advances in machine vision, processing visual data requires substantial computing resources and energy, limiting deployment in edge devices. Now, researchers from Japan have developed a self-powered artificial synapse that distinguishes ...
June 2, 2025 — What happens inside your brain when you hear a steady rhythm or musical tone? According to a new study, your brain doesn't just hear it -- it reorganizes itself in real ...
June 2, 2025 — Making a discovery with the potential for innovative applications in pharmaceutical development, a microbiology student has found a long sought-after fungus that produces effects similar to the semisynthetic drug LSD, which is used to treat ...
Latest Headlines
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June 9, 2025 — Deep within the brain, the ventral tegmental area does more than signal when we re rewarded it forecasts exactly when we ll be rewarded. This discovery came from an elegant collaboration between ...
June 9, 2025 — Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine have developed a new algorithm, the Krakencoder, that merges multiple types of brain imaging data to better understand how the brain s wiring underpins behavior, ...
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June 2, 2025 — A new way of thinking about Alzheimer's disease has yielded a discovery that could be the key to stopping the cognitive decline seen in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS ...
May 30, 2025 — Singing to your infant can significantly boost the baby's mood, according to a recent study. Around the world and across cultures, singing to babies seems to come instinctively to caregivers. Now, ...
May 30, 2025 — New research has found that men who carry a common genetic variant are twice as likely to develop dementia in their lifetime compared to ...
May 29, 2025 — A new study suggests that mindfulness training and/or non-invasive brain stimulation could reduce bladder leaks and feelings of urgency in patients with 'latchkey ...
May 29, 2025 — Coffee can help you stay awake. But what does caffeine actually do to your brain once you're asleep? Using AI, a team of researchers has an answer: it affects the brain's ...
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