Natural painkiller found in human spit

A new painkilling substance has been discovered that is up to six times more potent than morphine when tested in rats and it's produced naturally by the human body. Natural painkillers are very rare, and researchers hope that this recent find might be tamed as a clinical treatment.
Naturally produced painkillers might help to fend off some of the side effects faced by patients treated with synthetic compounds such as morphine, including addiction and tolerance with prolonged use. But this untried substance will first have to be tested to confirm whether it will be an effective drug, experts caution.
The compound, named opiorphin, seems to work by prolonging the body's own defences against pain, explain Catherine Rougeot of the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, and her colleagues, who report the discovery in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It does so by preventing the breakdown of chemicals called enkephalins, which in turn activate opiate receptors that block pain signals from reaching the brain.
Rougeot's team uncovered the new compound after previously finding a similar natural painkiller in rats, called sialorphin. They contemplated whether humans might produce something similar and by analysing saliva samples, brought to light opiorphin.
This is the first natural substance to be found in humans that uses this mechanism to relieve pain. But it's unlikely that opiorphin normally has a painkilling role in the body, says Alistair Corbett, a specialist on opioids at Glasgow Caledonian University, UK. The substance could play a general role in protecting chemicals in the body from being broken down, he says.
Source:Nature

JOKE:
A young woman went to her doctor complaining of pain. "Where are you hurting?" asked the doctor. "You have to help me, I hurt all over", said the woman. "What do you mean, all over?" asked the doctor, "be a little more specific."The woman touched her right knee with her index finger and yelled, "Owe, that hurts." Then she touched her left cheek and again yelled, "Ouch! That hurts, too." Then she touched her right earlobe, "Ouch, even THAT hurts", she cried.The doctor checked her thoughtfully for a moment and told her his diagnosis; "You have a broken finger."