Opioid-based therapies can be used to treat chronic pain that affects 30% to 40% of the population in the U.S. and Europe. These therapies aim at balancing pain management without causing an addiction risk.

Unfortunately, the chronic use of opioids can cause opioid-induced hyperalgesia, a condition where the patient receiving opioids for pain becomes more sensitive to certain kinds of pain. Increased opioid use and abuse has prompted the National Institute on Drug Abuse to fund projects that aim to understand the underlying chemical causes of pain. Read more.