Background Opioids have long been regarded as the most effective drugs for treatment of
severe acute and chronic pain. Unfortunately, their therapeutic efficacy and clinical utility has …

Background Ongoing neuropathic pain is difficult to treat. We examined whether dermorphin
[D-Arg2, Lys4](1–4) amide (DALDA), a peripherally acting mu-opioid receptor agonist …

Paclitaxel, a frequently utilized chemotherapeutic agent, often gives rise to severe and
distressing sensory neuropathy in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Unfortunately, current …

Opioid use for chronic pain is limited by severe central adverse effects. We examined
whether activating mu-opioid receptors (MORs) in the peripheral nervous system attenuates …

The dermorphin-derived peptide [Dmt1] DALDA (H-Dmt-d-Arg-Phe-Lys-NH2), labels μ-
opioid receptors with high affinity and selectivity in receptor binding assays. In mouse …

Dermorphin (Tyr-d-Ala-Phe-Gly-Tyr-Pro-Ser-NH2) is a heptapeptide isolated from
amphibian skin. With a very high affinity and selectivity for μ-opioid receptors, dermorphin …

Neuropathic (NP) pain is a debilitating chronic pain disorder considered by some to be
inherently resistant to therapy with traditional analgesics. Indeed, μ opioid receptor (OR) …

Background and objective The role of peripheral mu-opioid receptors (MOPs) in chronic
pain conditions is not well understood. Here, we used a combination of mouse genetics …

The clinical effectiveness of morphine is limited by several side effects, including the
development of tolerance and dependence. Most of these side effects are believed to be …

Two recent developments of opioid peptide-based analgesics are reviewed. The first part of
the review discusses the dermorphin-derived, cationic-aromatic tetrapeptide H-Dmt-D-Arg …