Analgesia, new research approaches

In the field of research of new centrally acting analgesics devoid of side effects, two Quo Vadis? symposia took place in Montpellier and Toulouse. The first was devoted to a review of the concept of enkephalinase inhibition: a specific protease for enkephalin inactivation. The second dealt with the existence of a kappa receptor, one of the opiate binding sites whose stimulation would not involve a respiratory depression and only induce limited tolerance and dependence phenomena.