University of Queensland researchers have developed a new class of oral painkillers to suppress chronic abdominal pain that is based on the peptide hormone oxytocin that drives childbirth contractions. Associate Professor Markus Muttenthaler from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience led a team that has changed the chemical structure of oxytocin to make it gut-stable after earlier work revealed the hormone could treat abdominal pain. Dr.
Muttenthaler said there was an urgent need for new treatments for the chronic pain caused by gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and irritable bowel diseases (IBD). This pain affects up to 15 per cent of adults in their lifetime, and all we have are anti-inflammatories and opioids which can cause side effects and addiction. Our research focuses on peptides that are highly potent and selective molecules and have few side effects.
However, nearly all peptide drugs must be injected as they are rapidly digested in the gut. We have now developed a way of making peptides gut-stable so they can be given orally. This is a new and highly promising approach to treating gut disorders.
" Dr. Markus Muttenthaler, Associate Professor from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience Oxytocin is a peptide hormone produced in the brain which is known as the 'bonding hormone' or the 'love molecule' due to its effects on relationship building, empathy and trust. Oxytocin is also the key hormone that induces uterine contractions during.