• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.1543-1548
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• 2007

Recent experiments investigating the analgesic or anti-stress effects of electro-acupuncture provide extensive evidence that opioid or stress hormone system is involved in those effects, respectively. It has been also suggested that opioid or stress hormones modulate long-term memory consolidation or retrieval in animals and human subjects. This article reviews the possibilitythat electroacupuncture can modulate memory consolidation or retrieval. The release of serum cortisol is enhanced or reduced by high-frequency or low-frequency electroacupuncture, respectively. Also the release of beta endorphin and enkephalin is enhanced by low-frequency electroacupuncture and the release of dynorphin is enhanced by high-frequency electroacupunture. The memory consolidation is enhanced by post-training injection of Glucocorticoids, Naloxone or Dynorphin. So this review suggests strongly that memory consolidation can be modulated by electroacupuncture.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.87-95
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• 2003

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify nurses' knowledge of pain and provide basic data for development of pain management education programs. Method: The participants in the study were 764 nurses working at seven medical centers in Youngnam area. The instrument used in this study consisted of 22 items on pain knowledge. The data were collected between March 1 and June 30, 2002 using a self-administered questionnaire. Analysis of data was done using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA and Scheffe test with the SPSS program. Result: 1) The average score for pain knowledge was 13.63 (total possible score, 22). 2) The highest item with correct response rate for knowledge of fain was identifying 'Tylenol as opioid or non-opioid.' and the lowest was for 'When opioids are used for pain relief for 3-6 months, what percent of patients are likely to develop opioid addiction?' 3) Nurses' knowledge of pain was significantly different according to age (F=7.040, p=.000), education (F=3.385, p=.034) and work career (F=6.101, p=.000). Conclusion: The above findings indicate that it is necessary to develop a comprehensive pain management education program and continuously provide the medical team with new knowledge about pain.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.186-191
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• 2020

In this study, we evaluated the anti-nociceptive activities of Sorbus alnifolia. To investigate the anti-nociceptive properties of the methanolic extract of Sorbus alnifolia (MSA), we conducted several tests using various experimental mouse pain models. Herein, MSA significantly delayed the latency time and writhing motion in the hotplate test and acetic acid test, respectively. These result indicated that MSA has an ability to manage both peripheral and central nociception. We could further confirm the analgesic effects of MSA by performing formalin test. In combination test using naloxone, a non-selective opioid receptor antagonist, analgesic activity of MSA was partly antagonized by naloxone, but not completely, indicating that the MSA acts as a partial opioid receptor agonist. Out results suggest that the S. alnifolia may be possibly used as valuable anti-nociceptive agent.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.187-190
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• 2002

Crude synaptic membrane fractions from the frontal cortex, striatum, brain stem and whole brain of rat were prepared to assay the effects of ginseng total saponin (GTS) on [$^3$H]DAGO bindings of the opioid $\mu$-receptors. Scatchard plots analysis binding data demonstrated that GTS (0.1 mg/ml) decreased the affinity of specific [$^3$H]DAGO bindings without changes in B$\_$max/ in the frontal cortex and striatum. On the other hand, GTS did not affect the [$^3$H]DAGO bindings iii the brain stem and whole brain. These results suggest that the regulation of [$^3$H]DAGO bindings by GTS may play roles in the change of the pharmacological responses of $\mu$-opioids.

• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.167-178
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• 2013

Oxycodone is a semi-synthetic opioid synthesized from poppy-derived thebaine. It is a narcotic analgesic generally indicated for relief of moderate to severe pain. Although developed in an attempt to improve on the existing opioids, the adverse effects of oxycodone are those that are typically found in opioids. In recent years, the use of the opioid oxycodone has increased markedly and replacing morphine as the first line choice of opioid in several countries. There are formulations for oral immediate, oral extended release and intravenous use. In 2013, intravenous oxycodone was approved for marketing by Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), with the indication of postoperative intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV PAC). Simulation study of oxycodone demonstrated that minimum effective analgesic concentration (MEAC) of oxycodone was most quickly reached with higher loading dose and IV PCA with background infusion, which may reduce the necessity of rescue analgesics during immediate postoperative period. Previous studies for postoperative pain management with intravenous oxycodone are limited in sample size, mostly less than 100 patients, which may not be large enough to assess safety of intravenous oxycodone. The effectiveness and tolerability of IV PCA with oxycodone should, therefore, be evaluated in large scale clinical trials in Korean populations.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.427-448
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• 2019

Nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) and its receptor, nociceptin opioid peptide (NOP) receptor, are localized in brain areas implicated in depression including the amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, habenula, and monoaminergic nuclei in the brain stem. N/OFQ inhibits neuronal excitability of monoaminergic neurons and monoamine release from their terminals by activation of G protein-coupled inwardly rectifying $K^+$ channels and inhibition of voltage sensitive calcium channels, respectively. Therefore, NOP receptor antagonists have been proposed as a potential antidepressant. Indeed, mounting evidence shows that NOP receptor antagonists have antidepressant-like effects in various preclinical animal models of depression, and recent clinical studies again confirmed the idea that blockade of NOP receptor signaling could provide a novel strategy for the treatment of depression. In this review, we describe the pharmacological effects of N/OFQ in relation to depression and explore the possible mechanism of NOP receptor antagonists as potential antidepressants.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.18-21
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• 2023

The combination of oxycodone and naloxone is useful for cancer pain management. Naloxone, as a pure opioid antagonist, cannot be used simultaneously with opioids. However, owing to its low bioavailability, it can be used in an oral composite formulation. We present the case of a 55-year-old man with gastric cancer who experienced severe opioid withdrawal syndrome (OWS) triggered by oxycodone/naloxone that was successfully managed with dexmedetomidine. He had been in a stable condition on intravenous morphine to alleviate cancer pain. Intravenous morphine was switched to oral oxycodone/naloxone for discharge from the hospital. The patient suddenly developed restlessness, heartburn, and violent behavior 30 minutes after taking oxycodone/naloxone. We attempted sedation with midazolam and propofol, but paradoxical agitation and desaturation occurred. Next, we tried dexmedetomidine and the patient showed a decreased heart rate and reduced agitation. The patient was eventually stabilized by increasing the dose of dexmedetomidine. This report informs clinicians of the possibility of OWS when switching from opioids to oxycodone/naloxone, which can be overcome with the appropriate use of sedatives and dexmedetomidine depending on the patient's condition.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 1994

Cyclic adenosine 3'5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) has been frequently accepted as an intracellular messenger for receptor-mediated action of opioids. In this experiment, it was designed to determine the interaction of dopaminergic and opioidergic system in the mouse striatum in normal and chronic haloperidol treated groups. Haloperidol 750ug/kg I.P. for 10 days was performed for dopamine denervation. The morphine, DAGO, DPDPE, and U5O,488H inhibited the increase of haloperidol-induced cyclic AMP content in chronic haloperidol treated mouse striatum. The inhibition of DAGO and DPDPE showed significant increase compared to normal mouse striatum. Naloxone showed antagonistic effect on the morphine and U5O,488H in chronic haloperidol treated group, and showed antagonistic effect on morphine, DAGO, DPDPE, and U5O, 488H in normal mouse striatum. These findings support that there is a functional interrelationship of dopaminergic and opioidergic pathway in the striatum. This result provides an evidence that following destruction of striatal dopaminergic neuron, there are some changes of cAMP content on the ${\mu},\;{\gamma},\;and\;{\kappa}$ opioid receptor, but the ${\kappa}$ opioid receptor still has its function.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.181-190
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• 1992

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of opioids on catecholamine (CA) secretion evoked by a selective cholinergic nicotinic agonist, 1,1-dimethyl-4-phenyl piperazinium (DMPP) and acetylcholine from the retrogradely perfused rat adrenal glands. Methionine-enkephalin $(9.68{\times}10^{-6}\;M)$ caused a significant inhibition of CA secretion evoked by DMPP (100 uM) and $ACh\;(50\;{\mu}g)$, but had no effect on the spontaneous (basal) CA release. Morphine $(1.73{\times}10^{-5}\;M)$ attenuated considerablely the increase in CA release induced by DMPP and ACh. Morphine itself also did not affect the basal CA output. A 20 to 65% reduction of the DMPP- and ACh-evoked increase in CA release was observed after the pretreatment with methionine-enkephalin or morphine. The increase in CA release evoked by DMPP and ACh was reduced markedly by preloading with an opiate antagonist naloxone $(1.22{\times}10^{-7}\;M)$ while basal CA output was not affected by naloxone. These present experimental results suggest that the nicotinic stimulation-evoked CA release from the perfused rat adrenal gland is inhibited by endogenously released opioid peptides through activation of opiate receptors located in the adrenal gland.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.2937-2943
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• 2013

Backgrounds: Polymorphisms of OPRM1 A118G and ABCB1 C3435T have been suggested to contribute to inter-individual variability regarding pain sensitivity, opioid usage, tolerance and dependence and incidence of adverse effects in patients with chronic pain. This study aimed to investigate the association of both two polymorphisms with opioid requirements in Chinese patients with cancer pain. Methods: The genotypes of rs1799971 (OPRM1) and rs1045642 (ABCB1) were determined by PCR-RFLP and direct sequencing methods respectively in 112 patients with cancer-related pain. Comparisons between the different genotype or allele groups were performed with t-tests or one-way ANOVA tests, as appropriate. The potential relationship of allele number with opioid response was performed with a trend Jonckheere-Terpstra test. Results: In the 112 subjects, the frequencies of variant 118 G and 3435T allele were 38.4% and 37.9%, respectively. Significant higher 24h-opioid doses were observed in patients with GG (P=0.0004) and AG + GG (P=0.005) genotypes than the AA carriers. The dominant mutant 118G allele tended to be associated with progressively increasing 24h-opioiddoses (P=0.001). Compared with CC/CT, patients with ABCB1 TT genotype received higher 24h- and weight-surface area-adjusted-24h- opioids doses (P=0.057 and 0.028, respectively). Conclusions: The OPRM1 A118G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is a key contributor for the inter-individual variability in opioidrequirements in Chinese cancer pain patients. This may possibly extend to the ABCB1 C3435T SNP.