Opiates are potent analgesic and addictive compounds. They also act on immune responses, and morphine, the prototypic opiate, has been repeatedly described as an immunosuppressive drug. Pharmacological studies have suggested that the inhibitory action of opiates on immunity is mediated by multiple opioid receptor sites but molecular evidence has remained elusive. Recently, three genes encoding ...

In synaptosomal membranes from rat and monkey brain cortex, the addition of petroselenic (18:1, cis-delta 6) acid, oleic (18:1, cis-delta 9) acid, and vaccenic (18:1, cis-delta 11) acid or their corresponding methyl esters at 0.5 mumol/mg of membrane protein caused a similar 7-10% decrease in the microviscosity of the membrane core, whereas at the membrane surface the microviscosity was reduced...

Galanin (GAL) is suggested to be a neuropeptide involved in pain transmission. In this study we tried to determine, whether the increase of GAL concentration in brain cells affects impulse transmission between the motor centers localized in the vicinity of the third and fourth cerebral ventricles. The experiments were carried out on rats under chloralose anesthesia. The study objectives were re...

The UDP-glucuronosyltransferase UGT2B7 is an important human UGT isoform that catalyzes the conjugation of many endogenous and exogenous compounds, among them opioids, resulting in the formation of D-glucuronides. The binding site of the aglycone is located in the N-terminal half of the protein. In this study, we demonstrate that the opioid binding site in UGT2B7 is within the first 119 amino-t...

The Oncologist 2004;9:717-718 www.TheOncologist.com After a century of effort, morphine remains the most effective weapon in the war against pain. Most painkillers, such as aspirin and acetaminophen, have an upper limit to their painkilling level, but morphine blocks more and more pain with increasing doses. Morphine is far from perfect, however: it causes nausea and constipation, it presents a...

results the pain score was lower in group a (p= 0.01), but the morphine consumption showed no significant difference between the groups (p= 0.24) during the first 6 hours postoperatively. conclusions although paracetamol (1gr) has caused a better pain relief quality but it is not a suitable analgesic for moderate pain control in acute phase after surgery alone. background although opioids are t...

Chronic pain is a debilitating condition that heightened health concern due to the concurrent and opioid epidemics. The currently available options for treatment management of chronic pain, opioids, are associated with risk conversion addiction diversion from patients whom use intended. To this end, we have studied non-opioid interventions, specifically inhibition glutamatergic system. system s...