Study Finds AI Could Help Treat Opioid Addiction

Study Finds AI Could Help Treat Opioid Addiction

Introduction

According to a new study, opioid addiction could be reduced by developing medicines that block the kappa-opioid receptor.

However, finding medications that can inhibit the action of a protein, such as the kappa-opioid receptor, can be a time- and money-consuming procedure, as screening billions of chemical molecules can take months.

Opioids are a class of drugs used to treat moderate to severe pain. It can be made in a laboratory or from the opium poppy plant. They obstruct the transmission of pain signals by binding to opioid receptors on nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord, gastrointestinal tract, and other bodily organs.

A researcher is using artificial intelligence to speed up the process (AI). She is using computational approaches to improve its efficacy. Similar tests are being carried out by Canadian researchers in Alberta. In light of the nation's escalating drug overdose crisis, academics are experimenting with artificial intelligence to calculate the risks linked with prescription opioids.

According to a University of Alberta researcher, machine learning might be more successful at identifying people who are most susceptible. Because of the AI-assisted approach, physicians may have more peace of mind knowing there are additional tools they can use to guarantee the patient receives the necessary prescription at the right time.

Opioid use disorder affects over 30 lakh Americans. Overdoses kill 80,000 people each year. Oxycodone, morphine, fentanyl, and heroin all bind to opioid receptors.

Mu-opioid receptor activation causes euphoria and pain alleviation, as well as physical dependence and reduced breathing, both of which can lead to a drug overdose death. According to preliminary research, inhibiting kappa-opioid receptors might be an effective pharmacological strategy for treating opioid addiction.

According to the study, persons who try to quit will ultimately suffer withdrawal symptoms, which can be difficult to overcome. When patients are exposed to opioids on a regular basis, their brains are rewired to demand more medications. It has been proven in animal models that inhibiting the activation of the kappa opioid receptor reduces the need for medication use during the withdrawal phase.

According to the study, the benefit of artificial intelligence is that it can learn to find patterns from massive volumes of data. Machine learning can help in the creation of innovative pharmaceuticals from scratch by employing knowledge obtained from huge chemical databases. By doing so, it may be able to reduce the time and cost associated with medicine development.

According to a researcher at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, once machine learning is integrated into the healthcare system, it might be a beneficial tool for reducing hospital stays and morbidity for patients. Sometimes current tools cannot pinpoint the sources of danger, and medical interventions may include more than merely decreasing a patient's opioid dose.