Ultra-low-dose opioid antagonists enhance opioid analgesia and reduce analgesic tolerance and dependence by preventing a G protein coupling switch (Gi/o to Gs) by the mu opioid receptor (MOR), although the binding site of such ultra-low-dose opioid antagonists was previously unknown. Here we show that with approximately 200-fold higher affinity than for the mu opioid receptor, naloxone binds a ...

The ability of neuropeptide Y to potently stimulate food intake is dependent in part upon the functioning of mu and kappa opioid receptors. The combined use of selective opioid antagonists directed against mu, delta or kappa receptors and antisense probes directed against specific exons of the MOR-1, DOR-1, KOR-1 and KOR-3/ORL-1 opioid receptor genes has been successful in characterizing the pr...

background : the existing evidence about the clinical situations of the bipolar patients with opioid dependence is scarce. the present study was carried out to compare the clinical features and course of the bipolar disorder type i regarding the two subgroups of opioid dependent and non-dependent. methods : there were 178 adult patients with bipolar disorder type i consecutively referred to the...

introduction: supplies of illegal drugs play determinant roles in developing new cases, relapse after treatment and some health criteria. recently, iran has encountered an illicit new coming drug which belongs to opioids. this article presents the crack supply in retail market in tehran.   method: this qualitative study was conducted in 2009 in tehran. in-depth interviews with drug dealers, dru...

Opioid maintenance treatment is the first-line approach in opioid dependence. Both the full opioid agonist methadone (MET) and the partial agonist buprenorphine (BUP) are licensed for the treatment of opioid dependence. BUP differs significantly from MET in its pharmacology, side effects, and safety issues. For example, the risk of respiratory depression is lower than with MET. The risk of dive...

Opioid analgesics are commonly used in chronic pain management despite a potential risk of rewarding. However, it remains unclear whether opioid analgesia would enhance the opioid rewarding effect thereby contributing to opioid rewarding. Utilizing a rat paradigm of conditioned place preference (CPP) combined with ankle monoarthritis as a condition of persistent nociception, we showed that anal...

OBJECTIVE To quantify the effects of varying opioid prescribing patterns after surgery on dependence, overdose, or abuse in an opioid naive population. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Surgical claims from a linked medical and pharmacy administrative database of 37 651 619 commercially insured patients between 2008 and 2016. PARTICIPANTS 1 015 116 opioid naive patients undergoin...

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...

The NOP receptor (nociceptin/orphanin FQ opioid peptide receptor) is the most recently discovered member of the opioid receptor family and, together with its endogenous ligand, N/OFQ, make up the fourth members of the opioid receptor and opioid peptide family. Because of its more recent discovery, an understanding of the cellular and behavioral actions induced by NOP receptor activation are les...

In the past 20 years, primary care physicians have greatly increased prescribing of long-term opioid therapy. However, the rise in opioid prescribing has outpaced the evidence regarding this practice. Increased opioid availability has been accompanied by an epidemic of opioid abuse and overdose. The rate of opioid addiction among patients receiving long-term opioid therapy remains unclear, but ...