Note: No company is formed yet. Seeking entrepreneur to lead. Opioids remain an indispensable treatment for severe pain despite increased risk for obese patients with tolerance. Of particular concern is opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD), especially during sleep, due to comorbid obstructive sleep apnea common in obese patients. Naloxone is the only drug available that can reverse the adverse effects of opioids and prevent death. However, naloxone has limited use because it reverses analgesia and induces withdrawal. A preventive treatment for sleep-related OIRD that does not affect analgesia or induce withdrawal is critical in patients with obesity. GW and JHU researchers found that intranasal leptin can reverse morphine-induced apneas, hypoventilation, and upper-airway obstruction while enhancing analgesic effects in mice with obesity.
