This new drug can relieve colitis pain without causing side effects

Comonly used opioid drugs to treat chronic pain in people with inflammatory bowel disease can cause severe and life-threatening side effects, including difficulty breathing, constipation, sedation, and addiction. Scientists have come up with a novel drug for relieving colitis pain without side effects.

By: Longjam Dineshwori | | Published: April 1, 2021 5:03 pm

See a doctor if you experience abdominal pain and cramping and blood in your stool.

Colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation of the colon, also known as your large intestine. Cramps and mild to severe pain in the abdomen are common symptom of colitis. Opioids are used to treat chronic pain in people with inflammatory bowel disease. But the drugs can cause severe and life-threatening side effects, including difficulty breathing, constipation, sedation, and addiction. A research team led by scientists at New York University College of Dentistry and Queen’s University in Ontario, has come up with a novel drug for relieving colitis pain without side effects. Also Read - Inflammatory bowel disease and other side effects of antibiotics

In mice study, they found that a reengineered form of the opioid fentanyl that only treats diseased tissues and spares healthy tissues could relieve pain from inflammatory bowel disease without causing any side effects. The study findings were published in the journal Gut. Also Read - Include these foods in your ulcerative colitis diet plan to get instant relief

A novel opioid could be promising treatment for colitis pain

Opioid drugs relieve pain by targeting opioid receptors on nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord, gut and other parts of the body. But when opioids activate the mu opioid receptor (which are particularly involved in the control of pain perception and reward properties) in healthy tissues, they can cause severe side effects. The researchers wanted to find out if it is possible to activate this receptor only in diseased tissues and spare healthy tissues to control the pain without triggering the devastating side effects. Also Read - World Inflammatory Bowel Disease Day 2020: Beat this condition with the right foods

They found their answer in a novel opioid called NFEPP, a reengineered form of the opioid fentanyl, discovered by Christoph Stein, MD, of Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin. An added fluorine atom allows the novel drug to only bind to the mu opioid receptor in an acidic environment, directing it to the diseased tissues–sites of inflammation or injury–which become acidic due to changes in the tissues’ metabolism.

Both NFEPP and fentanyl inhibited colon pain in mice with colitis. However, contrary to fentanyl, NFEPP did not cause side effects such as constipation, suppressed breathing and altered movement. NFEPP also cause no side effects in healthy mice without inflammatory bowel disease.

Next, the researchers plan to test NFEPP’s ability to inhibit pain in the human gut and ultimately conduct clinical trials. For the same, they have started collecting tissue samples from people with inflammatory bowel disease to check if their colons, like those in mice, are also acidic.

Such engineered drugs could hold promise for treatment of painful diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and cancer, said senior study author Nigel Bunnett, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Pathobiology at NYU College of Dentistry.

Symptoms of colitis you should be aware of

Unfortunately, there is no known cure for ulcerative colitis. However, treatment can greatly reduce signs and symptoms of the disease. It can cause signs and symptoms depending on the severity of inflammation and the area where it occurs. Common symptoms include: