Current Topics in Opioid Research

Opiates are the most effective and successful treatments for moderate to severe pain and use of these compounds has greatly increased over the past decades, with opioid prescriptions in the United States increasing three-fold between 1992 and 2010. Unfortunately, the availability of these addictive drugs has led to widespread abuse, first of the prescription medications and then, when these became less available, heroin and less expensive analogs such as fentanyl. Accordingly, opioid abuse has become a problem of epidemic proportions in the United States and throughout much of the world. The International Narcotics Research Conference has held annual meetings for nearly 50 years and highlights the most up to date research on opiates and their receptors with respect to analgesic and addictive properties as well as other opioid-mediated actions and adverse effects. The conference covers all topics on opiates and opioid receptors and disciplines ranging from medicinal chemistry for the development of next generation analgesics and drug abuse medications, to opioid pharmacology, biochemistry of the receptors, genetics of opioid abuse, and new tools for opioid research.

This Research Topic will highlight the most recent advances presented at the 2017 INRC meeting. It also welcomes additional contributions from the opioid community that further our understanding of opiates and opioid-receptor mediated actions, as well as contributions that provide potential alternative treatments for moderate-severe pain, prevention of opioid dependence or treatment of opioid use disorder. This Research Topic will include both full length and short research communications, opinion and review articles that are relevant to furthering the understanding of opioid actions.