There are differences between human individuals and between mouse strains in levels of mu opiate receptor (muOR) expression, responses to painful stimuli, and responses to opiate drugs. One of the best candidates for contributing to these differences is variation at the muOR gene locus. Support for this idea comes from analyses of the human and murine muOR genes. Assessments of individual diffe...

BACKGROUND/AIM Relapse of opiate dependence is a common occurrence after detoxification and introduction of opiate addicts in abstinence from opiates. Clinical evaluation showed that over 90% of opiate addicts exhibit depressive manifestations during detoxification, or develop post-detoxification depression. The aim of this study was to determine differences in the frequency of relapses, severi...

Studies from our laboratory have revealed a novel mu opiate receptor, mu 3, which is expressed in both vascular tissues and leukocytes. The mu 3 receptor is selective for opiate alkaloids and is insensitive to opioid peptides. We now identify the mu 3 receptor at the molecular level using a 441-bp conserved region of the mu 1 receptor. Sequence analysis of the isolated cDNA suggests that it is ...

BACKGROUND There is a paucity of data on frequency of metabolic syndrome (MS), insulin resistance (IR), and oxidative stress in Indian opiate users without comorbidities. OBJECTIVES To determine the influence of opiate use on frequency of MS, homeostasis model assessment for IR (HOMA-IR), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and oxidative stress in opiate-dependent male patients with...

BACKGROUND: Several pharmacological approaches are effective in the treatment

The consolidation of newly acquired memories involves the temporal transition from a recent, less stable trace to a more permanent consolidated form. Opiates possess potent rewarding effects and produce powerful associative memories. The activation of these memories is associated with opiate abuse relapse phenomena and the persistence of compulsive opiate dependence. However, the neuronal, mole...

Reactions mediated by the opiate receptors that inhibit adenylate cyclase (EC 4.6.1.1) are closely coupled to subsequent reactions that gradually increase adenylate cyclase activity of neuroblastoma X glioma NG108-15 hybrid cells. Opiate-treated cells have higher basal-, prostaglandin E1-, and 2-chloroadenosine-stimulated activities than do control cells. However, NaF or guanosine 5'-(beta, gam...