On November 6, 2014, a multidisciplinary group of experts and stakeholders attended a Prevention of Opioid Misuse Study Day in Toronto, Ontario, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research under a Canada Research Initiative in Substance Misuse (grant number CSM-133338). The goals were to: 1. Clarify issues surrounding opioid medications, including a discussion of current facts and myth...

Amniotic fluid and placenta contain a substance (POEF) that when ingested enhances opioid-mediated analgesia produced by several agents (morphine injection, vaginal/cervical stimulation, late pregnancy, footshock), but not that produced by aspirin injection. The present series of experiments employed quaternary naltrexone, an opioid antagonist that does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier...

The discovery of numerous endogenous neuropeptides that participate in the formation, transmission, modulation, and perception of pain signals offers numerous strategies for the development of new analgesics. Nevertheless, the same research has not yet replaced opioids as the gold standard of pain treatment. Therefore, one possible avenue of drug development may shift interest from searching fo...

Introduction: Genes often have multiple polymorphisms that interact with each other and the environment in different individuals. Variability in the opioid receptors can influence opiate withdrawal and dependence. In humans, A118G Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP) on μ-Opioid Receptor (MOR), 36 G>T in κ-Opioid Receptor (KOR), and T921C in the δ-Opioid Receptor (DOR) have been...

Abstract Background:In general, parental substance abuse is associated with children's emotional and behavioral problems. This study only investigated the internalizing problems (depression, anxiety and physical complains) in children of opioid or heroin-dependent parents in comparison with non-opioid dependent parents in order to determine the effects of drug dependency after exclu...

Chronic pain and prescription opioid abuse are extremely prevalent both in this country and worldwide. Consequences of opioid misuse can be life-threatening with significant morbidity and mortality, exacting a heavy toll on patients, physicians, and society. Individuals with chronic pain and co-occurring substance use disorders and/or mental health disorders, are at a higher risk for misuse of ...

Medical practitioners in South Africa are increasingly confronted with requests to treat patients with opioid use disorders. Many do not possess the required knowledge and skills to deal with these patients effectively. This overview of the medical treatment of opioid dependence was compiled by an elected working group of doctors working in the field of substance dependence. Recommendations are...

Opioid and tachykinin systems are involved in modulation of pain transmission in the spinal cord. Regulation of surface opioid receptors on nociceptive afferents is critical for opioid analgesia. Plasma-membrane insertion of delta-opioid receptors (DORs) is induced by stimulus-triggered exocytosis of DOR-containing large dense-core vesicles (LDCVs), but how DORs become sorted into the regulated...

Opioid abuse among pregnant women has reached epidemic proportions and has influenced maternal and child health policy at the federal, state, and local levels. As a result, we review the current state of opioid use in pregnancy and evaluate recent legislative and health policy initiatives designed to combat opioid addiction in pregnancy. We emphasize the importance of safe and responsible opioi...