May 15 (UPI) -- Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center found the brain's mu opioid receptors are responsible for the depression-relieving effects of tianeptine.
Tianeptine is an antidepressant also used to relieve pain without causing withdrawal symptoms, has approved for use in Europe, Asia and South America. The drug works as well as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, but little was known about exactly how tianeptine worked to alleviate depression symptoms.