It has been more than two decades since neuraxial opioids first underwent rigorous clinical study for use in humans. The intraspinal route of administration is now commonly used to administer anesthetics and analgesics. Addition of opioids to intraspinal administered local anesthetic provides an effective and prolonged analgesia. However, the physiochemical properties of opioids may influence t...

Guidelines for the use of opioids in the treatment of chronic pain have recently been proposed by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry. Older guidelines proposed by American pain organizations had the effect of liberalizing opioid prescription. In recent years, dramatic increases in prescribed opioids have been followed by equally dramatic rises in morbidity and mortality from prescript...

objective : in this study, the effects of estradiol valerate and raloxifenea selective estrogen receptor modulator; (serm) on morphine induced sensitization were examined in mice memory, according to the step-down passive avoidance task. method: the mice received morphine or estradiol and raloxifene for three days alone or in combination with morphine. after a drug free period of 5 days, the su...

BACKGROUND The buprenorphine transdermal system (BTDS) is approved in the US for the management of chronic pain. Due to its high affinity for μ-opioid receptors with a slow dissociation profile, buprenorphine may potentially displace or prevent the binding of competing μ-opioid-receptor agonists, including immediate-release (IR) opioids, in a dose-dependent manner. Health care professionals may...

Human societies have witnessed the phenomenon of ever-increasing use of pharmaceutical opioids for a long time. Moreover, cultural, social, and economic aspects in any community have undergone the negative effects of the growing tendency toward opioids addiction. Since abusing pharmaceutical opioids is a serious problem, it is important to recognize and prioritize the factors influencing this a...

BACKGROUND Intrathecal opioid administration has been used widely in patients suffering from severe cancer pain that is not managed with conventional modalities. However, the potential serious neurological complications from the procedure and the side effects of intrathecal opioids have made many clinicians reluctant to employ continuous intrathecal analgesia as a first-line therapeutic option ...

INTRODUCTION While opioids are effective in carefully selected patients with chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP), they are associated with potential risks. Therefore, treatment recommendations for the safe and effective use of opioids in this patient population are needed. MATERIALS AND METHODS A multidisciplinary expert panel was convened by the Pain Association of Singapore to develop practical ...

It has now been demonstrated that the μ, δ1 , δ2 , and κ1 opioid receptor (OR) agonists represent the most promising group of opioids for the creation of drugs enhancing cardiac tolerance to the detrimental effects of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). Opioids are able to prevent necrosis and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes during I/R and improve cardiac contractility in the reperfusion period. The OR ago...

Opioids have been used medicinally for millennia for their potent effects on nociception. However, the past 20 years have led to important insights into the influences and mechanisms of opioid actions, which are more extensive than merely analgesia, including human synthesis of opioids, critical roles of opioids during development and following nerve injury, and actions of different opiate alka...