BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Over the past 20 years, the prescribing of opioids has increased dramatically in North America, with parallel increases in opioid addiction, overdose, and associated deaths. We examined whether young children of women prescribed opioids were at increased risk of opioid overdose. METHODS We conducted a population-based, nested case control study in Ontario, Canada, bet...

Distribution and physiological significance of opioid receptors in the brain Samir F Atweh & Michael J Kuhar 47 Opiates, second messengers and cell response Robert E West & Richard J Miller Electrophysiological analysis of opioid action in the central nervous system Graeme Henderson Electrophysiology of opioid peptides and sensory systems A W Duggan Actions and distributions of opioid peptides ...

Respiratory depression limits the use of opioid analgesia. Although well described clinically, the specific mechanisms of opioid action on respiratory control centres in the brain have, until recently, been less well understood. This article reviews the mechanisms of opioid-induced respiratory depression, from the cellular to the systems level, to highlight gaps in our current understanding, an...

INTRODUCTION Opioids can produce potent analgesia by activating opioid receptors outside the central nervous system, thus avoiding centrally mediated unwanted effects. Peripheral opioid receptors are expressed in peripheral sensory (dorsal root ganglion) neurons and can interact with exogenous or endogenous opioid ligands both in animals and in humans. Inflammation of peripheral tissue leads to...

introduction: the neuroprotective role of opioid morphine against 6-hydroxydopamineinduced cell death has been demonstrated. however, the exact mechanism(s) underlying such neuroprotection, especially the role of subtype receptors, has not yet been fully clarified. methods: here, we investigated the effects of different opioid agonists on 6-ohda-induced neurotoxicity in human neuroblastoma sh-s...

OBJECTIVES This study investigates utilisation patterns for prescription opioid analgesics in the Australian community and how these are associated with a framework of individual-level factors related to healthcare use. METHODS Self-reported demographic and health information from participants in the 45 and Up Study cohort were linked to pharmaceutical claims from 2006-2009. Participants comp...

The authors estimated the prevalence of lifetime prescription opioid-use disorder among outpatients on opioid therapy using criteria from both versions 4 and 5 of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Using electronic records from a large health care system, a random sample of outpatients undergoing long-term opioid therapy for non-cancer pain was identified and 705 p...

Opioid abuse has been postulated as a cofactor in the immunopathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and AIDS. We and others have recently demonstrated that opioid enhances HIV infection of human macrophages through modulation of beta-chemokines and the CCR5 receptor and that this effect is reversed by naltrexone, a tertiary opioid antagonist. Tertiary opioid antagonists can...

Aims Our study sought to assess the prevalence of and risk factors for opioid drug dependence among out-patients on long-term opioid therapy in a large health-care system. Methods Using electronic health records, we identified out-patients receiving 4+ physician orders for opioid therapy in the past 12 months for non-cancer pain within a large US health-care system. We completed diagnostic inte...

Opium is one of the oldest herbal medicines currently used as an analgesic, sedative and antidiarrheal treatment. The effects of opium are principally mediated by the μ-, κ- and δ-opioid receptors. Opioid substances consist of all natural and synthetic alkaloids that are derived from opium. Most of their effects on gastrointestinal motility and secretion result from suppression of neural activi...