Lecture

Pharmacology of Pain: Mechanisms and Drug Targets

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

In course

BIO-478: Pharmacology and pharmacokinetics

This course introduces the student to the fudamentals of pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and drug-receptor interactions. It discusses also pharmacogenetics and chronopharmacology, to exemplify the challenges of personalized medicine. ...

Description

This lecture covers the pharmacology of pain, focusing on the four steps in pain sensation: transduction, conduction, transmission/modulation, and perception. It discusses nociceptive pain, sensitizing agents, central and peripheral sensitization, opioid receptor agonists, NSAIDs, and the mechanism of action of various drugs. The presentation also delves into the effects of NSAIDs, opioids, and other related drugs, as well as the treatment of neuropathic pain and migraine therapy.

Instructors (2)

Romain Zufferey

Teaching & PhD Courses Biology for engineers MSE-212 This course consists of an introduction to biology and more particularly to biology as a multidisciplinary field, emphasizing natural examples of materials engineering. It should therefore allow engineering students to find inspiration from biology in future materials research problems. Cellular biology and biochemistry for engineers BIO-105 Basic course in biochemistry as well as cellular and molecular biology for non-life

Dmitri Firsov

Teaching & PhD Courses Pharmacology and pharmacokinetics BIO-478 This course introduces the student to the fudamentals of pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and drug-receptor interactions. It discusses also pharmacogenetics and chronopharmacology, to exemplify the challenges of personalized medicine.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Health sciences

Physical therapy: Topics in physical therapy

Related concepts (32)

Opioid

Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically they are primarily used for pain relief, including anesthesia. Other medical uses include suppression of diarrhea, replacement therapy for opioid use disorder, reversing opioid overdose, and suppressing cough. Extremely potent opioids such as carfentanil are approved only for veterinary use. Opioids are also frequently used non-medically for their euphoric effects or to prevent withdrawal.

Pain

Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage." Pain motivates organisms to withdraw from damaging situations, to protect a damaged body part while it heals, and to avoid similar experiences in the future.

Κ-opioid receptor

The κ-opioid receptor or kappa opioid receptor, abbreviated KOR or KOP for its ligand ketazocine, is a G protein-coupled receptor that in humans is encoded by the OPRK1 gene. The KOR is coupled to the G protein Gi/G0 and is one of four related receptors that bind opioid-like compounds in the brain and are responsible for mediating the effects of these compounds. These effects include altering nociception, consciousness, motor control, and mood. Dysregulation of this receptor system has been implicated in alcohol and drug addiction.

Neuropathic pain

Neuropathic pain is pain caused by damage or disease affecting the somatosensory system. Neuropathic pain may be associated with abnormal sensations called dysesthesia or pain from normally non-painful stimuli (allodynia). It may have continuous and/or episodic (paroxysmal) components. The latter resemble stabbings or electric shocks. Common qualities include burning or coldness, "pins and needles" sensations, numbness and itching. Up to 7-8% of the European population is affected, and in 5% of persons it may be severe.

Chronic pain

Chronic pain is classified as pain that lasts longer than three months. In medicine, the distinction between acute and chronic pain is sometimes determined by the amount of time since onset. Two commonly used markers are pain that continues at three months and six months since onset, but some theorists and researchers have placed the transition from acute to chronic pain at twelve months. Others apply the term acute to pain that lasts less than 30 days, chronic to pain of more than six months duration, and subacute to pain that lasts from one to six months.

Related lectures (21)

Neurons and Pain Management: Clinical Insights

Covers the diversity of neurons and their clinical implications in pain management and neurological diseases.

Pharmacology of Pain: Mechanisms and Drug Targets

Explores the pharmacology of pain, including transduction, sensitizing agents, opioid receptor agonists, NSAIDs, and neuropathic pain treatments.

Infectious Diseases: Small Molecule Drugs

Explores small molecule drugs for infectious diseases, covering global mortality rates, viral and bacterial injuries, antiviral and antibacterial agents, and the development of COX2 inhibitors.

Physiopathology of Pain

Explores the generality, types, mechanisms, and treatment of pain, including chronic pain as a disease and the sensitivity to pain.

Neurotransmitters: GABA and Glycine