WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- A research team has discovered that blood pressure medications have an unanticipated impact on the brain.
University of Minnesota Medical School scientists report that drugs used to treat blood pressure unexpectedly increase the effect of opioids that the brain naturally produces. This can fine-tune the function of a specific brain circuit and counteract the addictive properties of opiates like fentanyl, which are used to treat pain.
Patrick Rothwell, PhD, an assistant professor of neuroscience at the U of M Medical School and Medical Discovery Team on Addiction said that their findings suggested a new strategy to boost opioid signaling in the brain in a way that was protective and beneficial, with a very low risk of dependence or addiction.