Xylazine, a veterinary anesthetic commonly referred to as “tranq,” has recently made its way into the illicit drug supply as a drug adulterant to enhance the effects of fentanyl, a potent opioid that can be lethal even in small amounts. The new drug combination has resulted in a 1,127% increase in xylazine-positive overdose mortalities in the American south from 2020 to 2021, and results in other problematic health effects including tissue necrosis. Now two researchers at the University of Kentucky will use a $2.65M grant to study how xylazine and fentanyl change the brain’s signaling pathways. This week Dr. Greg talks with Cassandra Gipson-Reichardt, associate professor in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine’s Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, who is conducting the study with fellow professor Terry Hinds, Jr.