Adolescent Substance Abuse Articles
Drug may provide more effective pain treatment
By Staff Writer
Morphine is a medication that acts on the central nervous system to relieve pain, according to the Mayo Clinic. The results of a recent study show that a similar drug may produce longer lasting effects and fewer complications.
The study, which was published in the December 2010 issue of the European Journal of Pharmacology, was led by a Layola University Health System anesthesiologist. According to the study, opioids such as morphine, oxycodone and hydrocodone can produce side effects such as constipation.
Researchers used rats to determine the effectiveness of morphine-6-0-sulfate, which is similar in chemical structure to morphine. The animals were given the two drugs through the mouth, by IV and via injection.
Following a series of tests, morphine-6-0-sulfate was found to be more potent than standard morphine, no matter how it was administered to the rats. For instance, in a test designed to determine the rats' sensitivity to pain, morphine-6-0-sulfrate that had been injected in the space surrounding the spinal cord was 10 times more potent.
It was discovered that morphine-6-0-sulfate would only cause constipation at doses 10 to 20 times higher than the effective doses. Though more research is required, similar studies of more effective drugs may lead to better chronic pain treatment.
