Common treatment for cancer pain stimulates breast tumor growth in mice
...r pain. For example, understanding the activity of opioids like morphine in angiogenesis may lead to new drugs that selectively relieve pain without stimulating angiogenesis. The researchers said that their findings call for further investigation of the role of morphine and similar opioid drugs in tumor grow...Sugar on the brain: Study shows sugar dependence in rats
...he said. "The brain is getting addicted to its own opioids as it would to morphine or heroin. Drugs give a bigger effect, but it is essentially the same process." Hoebel emphasized that there are more elements to addiction than bingeing and withdrawal, and that further studies will be needed to complete the ...Reducing postoperative nausea and vomiting
...ally,the chance of PONV increases significantly if opioids are used for postoperative pain management. Women are at a three times higher risk of PONV when compared to men, Gan explained. Therehave been studies looking at hormonal links or where a woman may be in her menstrual cycle at the time ofsurgery....Research shows way to boost morphine's pain-killing benefits
...y 25 issue of the journal Cell. Morphine and other opioids affect the body first by docking with naturally occurring receptors on cell surfaces. Known as mu opioid receptors (MOR), they are part of a large family of receptors involved in the action of most neurotransmitters and hormones. These receptors are ...Behavioral therapies plus pharmacotherapies can add up to success
...hich is a part of the brain's reward system. When opioids are stimulated, levels of a neurotransmitter called dopamine are increased. Dopamine activity is thought to be key to experiencing the "high" of a variety of different drugs, including alcohol. Naltrexone achieves its effects by "blocking" this dom...Rewards coupled with naltrexone effective in treating heroin and other opioid addictions
... is an opioid antagonist that blocks the effect of opioids in the brain. Unlike methadone, it is non-addictin...and opioid use. "Many people who are addicted to opioids such as heroin think that all that is available to help them is methadone maintenance, which is very...NIDA and partners announce national initiative on prescription drug misuse and abuse
... over used sedatives, stimulants, tranquilizers or opioids for non-medical reasons in 1999." Joining with NIDA are AARP, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Pharmaceutical Association, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Community Pharmacists Association, the ...Fine-tuning naltrexone treatment for alcoholics
...ed with pain relief, calming and euphoria. "When opioids are stimulated," he said, "that in turn causes an ...ed to alcohol. Having a taste of these endogenous opioids is enough to make some people want more of them." Preclinical research has shown that animals treate...St. Paul researcher receives national award
...ancisco. Like other biologically active compounds, opioids -- drugs derived from opium, such as morphine and heroin -- work by binding to receptors, specific protein pockets on the surfaces of cells. "As researchers gain more insight into how molecules and receptors actually recognize each other, they can ta...Drug blocks opioid side effects: Could improve palliative care
...en reported that they were "disappointed." Because opioids slow down the entire digestive process, the researchers also measured oral-cecal transit time, how long it took for food to travel from the mouth to the cecum -- the chamber at the beginning of the large intestine. Under the influence of methadone, t...Pain, itself, elicits pain relief, and does so through 'reward' pathway
...tion of naloxone, a drug that blocksthe effects of opioids in this reward circuit. The researchers conducted the bulk of their study in anesthetized rats,measuring the animals' response to pain signals in the paws. Because theseanimals were anesthetized, the measurements were taken using a technique knownas...Higher Doses Of Methadone May Do The Trick, New Study Says
...sesare best at keeping patients from using illegal opioids are rare. Research byJohns Hopkins scientistsreported in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association bucks thistrend, however: Itshows that larger than typical doses of methadone may work best in controllingaddicted patients'drug use. ...UCSF Study In Rats Suggests Synthetic Drug Mimicking Marijuana Might Be Used To Treat Pain
... Center for Integrative Neuroscience atUCSF. While opioids such as morphine provide strong analgesic effects ...ys Meng, it may be possible to use a lower dose of opioids ifthey are used in combination with a cannabinoid, producing fewer side effectsand increasing the pa...