BACKGROUND Chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) is common in the UK. GPs manage most patients with such pain. Previous research has suggested that prescribing is influenced by patient and doctor factors, but less is known about the decision- making process involved in prescribing opioid drugs for CNCP. AIM To describe the factors influencing GPs' prescribing of strong opioid drugs for CNCP. Design ...

Morphine is the most widely used compound among narcotic analgesics and remains the gold standard when the effects of other analgetic drugs are compared. The most characteristic effect of morphine is the modulation of pain perception resulting in an increase in the threshold of noxious stimuli. Antinociception induced by morphine is mediated via opioid receptors, namely the μ-type opioid recept...

PURPOSE Integrate statewide rankings of abuse across different drugs and/or signal detection systems to summarize prescription drug abuse in each state in 2007. METHODS Four signal detection systems (Opioid Treatment Programs, Key Informants, Drug Diversion, and Poison Centers) that covered heterogeneous populations collected data on the abuse of nine opioids: hydrocodone, immediate-release o...

background:naltrexone is a competitive opioid receptor antagonist blocking the euphoric effects of exogenous opioids. when used concomitantly with opioids, naltrexone causes severe withdrawal symptoms.the main aim of the study is to determine the symptomatology and outcome of patients who consumed naltrexone in conjunction with an opioid substance. methods:this cross-sectional study was perform...

The Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000) was established to create a new paradigm for medication-assisted treatment of persons with opiate addiction in the United States. Before enactment of DATA 2000, the use of opioid medications to treat patients with opioid addiction was permissible only in federally approved treatment programs, ie, "methadone clinics." The only medications perm...

Intravenous dexamethasone and diclofenac were evaluated in a double blind randomised trial, relative to an opioid (pentazocine) and placebo (saline), in 160 patients undergoing extraction of impacted lower third molar teeth. Test drugs were administered intravenously before surgery to provide postoperative analgesia. Following the operation, pain was assessed using a 10 cm visual analogue scale...

Numerous national surveys and surveillance programs have shown a substantial rise in the abuse of prescription opioids over the past 15 years. Accessibility of these drugs to non-patients is the result of their unlawful channeling from legal sources to the illicit marketplace (diversion). Empirical data on diversion remain absent from the literature. This paper examines abusers' sources of dive...

background and objectives cannabinoids which are active compounds of marijuana show some pharmacological effects similar to the opioids. there are also functional interactions between both cannabinoid and opioid systems. in this study we investigated the role of cannabinoid receptors in central amygdala and its interaction with opioid system.   methods in the present study, we investigated the ...