BACKGROUND It is well known that naltrexone, an FDA-approved medication for treatment of alcohol dependence, is effective for only a subset of individuals. Recent studies have examined the utility of a functional A118G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) as a predictor of naltrexone treatment response. Although the findings to date have generally been con...

Naltrexone is an opiate m-receptor antagonist approved for treatment of alcohol dependency at a recommended dose of 50 mg/day. The mechanism of action is proposed to be mediated by a normalization of endogenous endorphin levels. Despite few and inconclusive studies (casuistic or open-label), a naltrexone dose of 3–5 mg/day (low-dose naltrexone, LDN) has been suggested to ameliorate a wide range...

nephrotoxicity is a major side effect of cisplatin, a widely used chemotherapy agent. morphine and other opioids are also used extensively in different types of cancer for the clinical management of pain associated with local or metastatic neoplastic lesions. in addition to its analgesic effects, morphine has also been reported to possess potential immunomodulatory and antioxidant properties. h...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW The major problem with the oral formulation of naltrexone for heroin dependence is poor compliance (adherence). Long-acting sustained release formulations of naltrexone (implantable and injectable) might help to improve compliance and, thus, increase the efficacy of abstinence-oriented treatment of heroin dependence with naltrexone. RECENT FINDINGS There have been several im...

This within-subjects, placebo-controlled laboratory study was designed to examine the effects of naltrexone on cigarette response in 44 chronic smokers (23 male, 21 female). Each participant received either 50-mg oral naltrexone or identical placebo during the morning of the session after maintaining overnight abstinence. Subsequently, the participant was administered a smoking cue (holding lit...

OBJECTIVES To determine whether naltrexone is beneficial in the treatment of alcohol dependence in the absence of obligatory psychosocial intervention. DESIGN Multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. SETTING Hospital-based drug and alcohol clinics, 18 March 1998 - 22 October 1999. PATIENTS 107 patients (mean age, 45 years) fulfilling Diagnostic and statistical manu...

(2014) A non-rewarding, non-aversive buprenorphine/naltrexone combination attenuates drug-primed reinstatement to cocaine and morphine in rats in a conditioned place preference paradigm. This version is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. ABSTRACT Concurrent use of cocaine and heroin is a major public health iss...

Two experiments investigated the role of the opioid system in sucrose-reinforced conditioned place preferences (CPPs) in rats. Experiment 1 examined the effects of a general opioid antagonist, naltrexone, on the expression of a CPP acquired in the absence of the drug. Subjects were trained to associate one compartment of a two-compartment chamber with sucrose and the other compartment with wate...

Naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, has been used in clinical trials to treat alcoholism. As the opioid peptides beta-endorphin and enkephalin increase splenic NK cell function in laboratory animals, it is anticipated that naltrexone treatment will cause immunosuppression. However, we report in this study that chronic naltrexone administration in laboratory rats increases the cytolytic activity o...

BACKGROUND Moral philosophers have debated the extent to which persons are individually responsible for the onset of and recovery from addiction. Empirical investigators have begun to explore counselors' attitudes on these questions. Meanwhile, a separate literature has investigated counselors' negative attitudes towards naltrexone, an important element of medication-assisted treatment for alco...