The Reason Behind Pain Killers being more Effective for Women

Posted on Sep 16th, 2011 | Comments (0)
Health Care

In accordance with tips regarding women’s health, a new study conducted at the State University of New York has put forth the reason for the effectiveness of painkillers on the female gender as opposed to the male gender. Despite the fact that from mid-nineteenth century onwards, it was known that pain killers are more effective on women as compared to the male population but the reason for this phenomenon was unknown; until recently of course.

The reasons behind pain killers being more effective on the female population and it has increased people’s faith in using pain killers to curb pain and maintain a woman’s health.

It has been well over a century now that it was revealed that some narcotic analgesics affect women more than men but the reason was yet to be discovered. The new study reveals that the narcotic analgesics decrease pain by activating opioid receptors, which are located on nerves that transmit painful sensations.

The three main types of opioid receptors; mu, kappa and delta opioid receptors in the brain and the spinal cord, were not thought to be different for men and women. Therefore, it was difficult to determine why painkillers had different effects of both sexes. The new study reveals that the same major types of opioid receptor interact differently, depending on sex.

In the test, the spinal cord of the female laboratory animals used for the test were found to contain almost five times more kappa-mu heterodimer; a compound of mu-opioid and kappa-opioid receptor, than the spinal cord of male animals.

Moreover, the study also suggests that the kappa-mu opioid receptor heterodimers could function as a molecular switch that shifts the action of kappa-opioid receptors and endogenous chemicals that act on them from pain promoting to pain alleviating. Therefore, the Kappa-mu opioid receptor heterodimers could serve as a novel molecular target for pain management in women.