κ opioid receptor (KOR) antagonists are potential pharmacotherapies for the treatment of migraine and stress-related mood disorders including depression, anxiety, and drug abuse, thus the development of novel KOR antagonists with an improved potency/selectivity profile and medication-like duration of action has attracted the interest of the medicinal chemistry community.
Kappa (κ) opioid receptor selective antagonists are useful pharmacological tools in studying κ opioid receptors and have potential to be used as therapeutic agents for the treatment of a variety of diseases including mood disorders and drug addiction.
There are limited data on the impact of selective KOP-r antagonism in humans on basic biobehavioral functions, or on addictive diseases and mood disorders.
The dynorphin/KOR system is a crucial neurochemical substrate underlying the pathologies of addictive diseases, affective disorders and other disease states.
These results support the use of the WKY rat as a model of affective disorders potentially involving KOR overactivity and provide more evidence that KOR antagonists could potentially be used as novel antidepressants.
Prodynorphin and kappa opioid receptor mRNA expression in the cingulate and prefrontal cortices of subjects diagnosed with schizophrenia or affective disorders.
Prodynorphin and kappa opioid receptor mRNA expression in the cingulate and prefrontal cortices of subjects diagnosed with schizophrenia or affective disorders.