Over the past two decades, the United States has experienced a growing crisis of substance abuse and addiction that is illustrated most starkly by the rise in deaths from drug overdoses

Opioids work by stimulating opioid receptors in the brain, blocking those pain signals. During the process, the brain also floods with the neurotransmitter dopamine, creating feelings of euphoria and activating the brain’s reward system. That’s why opioids can be incredibly addictive. 

The Food and Drug Administration approved a new type of nonopioid painkiller.

The drug, Journavx, or suzetrigine, was approved to treat moderate to severe acute, or short-term, pain in adults. Experts say the drug, which is billed as nonaddictive, could reduce the number of opioids patients are prescribed after surgery or be used by patients who can’t take other pain medication

The new drug works in a completely different way, by blocking the pain signal from traveling to the brain in the first place. The signal is triggered by sodium rushing into the nerve ending, sending the message onward to the brain.

“This is the first time we have had something that targets a specific sodium channel,” said Dr. Richard Rosenquist, enterprise chairman in the department of pain management in the Neurological Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.

Source: NBC News

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fda-approves-new-type-nonopioid-painkiller-acute-pain-rcna189871