New treatment for inflammatory bowel disease: Opioids may cure that 'bad gut feeling'

Opioid receptors play key roles in regulating our senses and emotions. Recently, their discovery outside the nervous system raised several questions about the effects of opioids on the immune system. Now, researchers have shown that KNT-127 -- a drug that targets delta opioid receptors -- can reduce pro-inflammatory signals in the colon. Their research highlights the immunomodulatory properties of opioids and indicates their therapeutic potential in inflammatory bowel disease and other related disorders.

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