Kappa and Mu Opioid Receptors in Chronic Cough: Current Evidence and Future Treatment

Abstract

Chronic cough is a significant burden on patient quality of life and is associated with poor health outcomes. Chronic cough may be a result of neural hypersensitivity due to changes in both the peripheral and the central nervous systems, although the exact mechanisms underlying its pathogenesis are not completely understood. Opioid receptors, specifically kappa and mu, are potential therapeutic targets in the management of chronic cough because they play a pivotal role in both the peripheral and the central neural pathways implicated in the act of coughing. Morphine, a mu opioid receptor agonist, is an effective cough modulator; however, mu receptor agonists are part of a drug class that can..