The cerebrospinal fluid-contacting nucleus (CSF-CN), distributes and localizes in the ventral periaqueductal central gray (PAG) of the brainstem, which may influence actual composition of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for non-synaptic signal transmission via releasing or absorbing bioactive substances. Many experiments have demonstrated that substance P (SP), a substance that is shown to be up-...

background: morphine and lidocaine are known to influence the perception of pain. the present study sought to determine the influence of local administration of morphine on lidocaine-induced analgesia in morphine non-dependent (mnd), morphine dependent (md) and morphine withdrawal (mw) animals. methods: adult male wistar rats were divided into four groups: control, mnd, md and mw rats. lidocain...

BACKGROUND Red ginseng and ginsenosides have shown plethoric effects against various ailments. However, little is known regarding the effect of red ginseng on morphine-induced dependence and tolerance. We therefore investigated the effect of red ginseng extract (RGE) and biotransformed ginsenosides Rh2, Rg3, and compound K on morphine-induced dependence in mice and rats. METHODS While mice we...

Regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) are a family of proteins known to accelerate termination of effector stimulation after G protein receptor activation. RGS9-2, a brain-specific splice variant of the RGS9 gene, is highly enriched in striatum and also expressed at much lower levels in periaqueductal gray and spinal cord, structures known to mediate various actions of morphine and other opia...

Background: New evidence suggests an important role for spinal glial cells in development of opioid dependence. Curcumin, a component of the Curcuma Longa, has shown to act as a suppressor of microglial cells. The main goal of this study was to explore the attenuating effects of curcumin on morphine dependence with a focus on spinal microglial cells and inflammatory cytokines. Methods: In...

As functional changes in L-type high voltage-gated calcium channels (HVCCs) are recognized to be one of the major neurochemical modifications occurring in brains of animals with morphine physical dependence, this study attempts to examine whether regional difference in the expressions of HVCC subunits are produced in the brains under such pathological conditions. Scatchard analysis of [(3)H]PN2...

Introduction: Topiramate is a newly anti-convulsant drug, which acts as NMDA glutamate receptor antagonist as well as the GABAB receptor agonist. It is used for physical dependence to opioids as well as cocaine, nicotine, alcohol and ecstasy dependence. In the present study attempts were made to further identification of the effects of topiramate on the acquisition and expression of morphine...

Despite considerable evidence that chronic opiate use selectively affects the pathophysiologic consequences of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in the nervous system, few studies have examined whether neuro-acquired immune deficiency syndrome (neuroAIDS) might intrinsically alter the pharmacologic responses to chronic opiate exposure. This is an important matter because HIV...

abstract background and objective: according to the issue of dependence and tolerance in addicted patients, the inefficiency of existing treatments and the new recommendation for drug combination therapy for diseases in modern pharmacology, the present study examined the effect of methadone and valproate combination on morphine dependence and tolerance. materials and methods: ninety-eight male ...

Combined use of an opioid with a psychostimulant is popular among drug abusers. Such “polydrug use” may increase drug effects or attenuate adverse effects of either drug alone. We proposed that a combination of methamphetamine (meth) and morphine may change physical opioid withdrawal symptoms. Adult male rats were chronically injected with cumulative subcutaneous (s.c.) doses of morphine, meth ...