The central opioid system is involved in a broadly distributed neural network that regulates food intake. Here, we show that activation of central δ-opioid receptor not only stimulated normal diet intake but conversely suppressed high-fat diet intake as well. [D-Pen(2,5)]-enkephalin (DPDPE), an agonist selective for the δ-receptor, increased normal diet intake after central administration to no...

methadone is widely being used for opioid substitution therapy. however, the administration of methadone to opioid dependent individual is frequently accompanied by withdrawal syndrome and chemical dependency develops. other than that, it is also difficult to retain patients in the treatment programme making their retention rates are decreasing over time. this article is written to higlights th...

Opioid receptor antagonists increase hyperalgesia in humans and animals, which indicates that endogenous activation of opioid receptors provides relief from acute pain; however, the mechanisms of long-term opioid inhibition of pathological pain have remained elusive. We found that tissue injury produced μ-opioid receptor (MOR) constitutive activity (MOR(CA)) that repressed spinal nociceptive si...

KEY FINDINGS Data from the National Vital Statistics System Mortality File. From 1999 through 2006, the number of fatal poisonings involving opioid analgesics more than tripled from 4,000 to 13,800 deaths. Opioid analgesics were involved in almost 40% of all poisoning deaths in 2006. In 2006, the rate of poisoning deaths involving opioid analgesics was higher for males, persons aged 35-54 years...

BACKGROUND While the use of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) has increased dramatically in the past 2 decades, concern exists about the safety of opioids, particularly with the extensive use among individuals with CNCP. OBJECTIVE To assess the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) among adults exposed to opioids for non-cancer pain. STUDY DESIGN Nested case-control study. SETTING United...

Opioids remain the most effective analgesics despite their potential adverse effects such as tolerance and addiction. Mechanisms underlying these opiate-mediated processes remain the subject of much debate. Here we describe opioid-induced behaviors of Lmx1b conditional knockout mice (Lmx1bf/f/p), which lack central serotonergic neurons, and we report that opioid analgesia is differentially depe...

cAMP response-element binding protein (CREB), a transcription factor involved in learning, memory and drug addiction, is phosphorylated by calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV (CaMKIV). Here, we show that CaMKIV-knockout (KO) mice developed less analgesic tolerance after chronic morphine administration with no alteration in physical dependence or acute morphine-induced analgesia. The ...

BACKGROUND Although adequate management of postoperative pain with oral analgesics is an important aspect of surgical procedures, inadvertent overprescribing can lead to excess availability of opioids in the community for potential diversion. The purpose of our study was to prospectively evaluate opioid consumption following outpatient upper-extremity surgical procedures to determine opioid uti...

PURPOSE Prescription opioid misuse has become increasingly prevalent in the United States. Preoperative opioid counseling has been proposed to decrease opioid consumption after surgery. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of preoperative opioid counseling on patients' pain experience and opioid consumption after carpal tunnel release (CTR) surgery. METHODS A prospective comparison of cons...