scholarly journals Cannabinoid treatment of opiate addiction

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e14
Author(s):  
Erin McLemon ◽  
Rose Chesworth
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Animal Models ◽  
Opioid Addiction ◽  
Opioid Withdrawal ◽  
Opioid Abuse ◽  
Withdrawal Symptoms ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Self Administration ◽  
Preclinical Research ◽  
Endogenous Opioid

Opioid abuse is a growing global problem. Current therapies for opioid abuse target withdrawal symptoms and have several adverse side effects. There are no treatments to address opioid-induced neural adaptations associated with abuse and addiction. Preclinical research demonstrates interactions between the endogenous opioid and cannabinoid systems, suggesting that cannabinoids may be used to treat opioid addiction and dependence. The aim of this review is to assess how cannabinoids affect behavioural and molecular measures of opioid dependence and addiction-like behaviour in animal models. It appears that cannabidiol and cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R) antagonists have potential for treating drug-craving and drug-seeking behaviour, based on evidence from preclinical animal models. Ligands which inhibit the action of cannabinoid degradation enzymes also show promise in reducing opioid withdrawal symptoms and opioid self-administration in rodents. Agonists of CB1R could be useful for treating symptoms of opioid withdrawal; however, the clinical utility of these drugs is limited by side effects, the potential for cannabinoid addiction and an increase in opiate tolerance induced by cannabinoid consumption. The mechanisms by which cannabinoids reduce opioid addiction-relevant behaviours include modulation of cannabinoid, serotonin, and dopamine receptors, as well as signalling cascades involving ERK-CREB-BDNF and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α. Identifying the receptors involved and their mechanism of action remains a critical area of future research.

scholarly journals The Successful Treatment of Opioid Withdrawal-Induced Refractory Muscle Spasms with 5-HTP in a Patient Intolerant to Clonidine

2015 ◽  
Vol 3;18 (3;5) ◽  
pp. E417-E420
Author(s):  
Jennfier Dais
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Opioid Withdrawal ◽  
Drug Holiday ◽  
Withdrawal Symptoms ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Over The Counter ◽  
Treatment Protocols ◽  
Novel Drugs ◽  
Muscle Spasms

Instituting drug holidays for chronic opioid using patients is becoming commonplace for pain practitioners initiating procedures such as intrathecal pump or spinal cord stimulator trials. As such, pain practitioners need to be adept in their management of acute opioid withdrawal. Successfully weaning an opioid dependent patient off of chronic opioids requires a thorough knowledge of the available adjuvants to assist in this process. However, that selection can become exhausted by adjuvant side effects or by ineffective attenuation of opioid withdrawal symptoms. In that case, novel drugs, or novel application of currently available medications must be sought after to assist in the drug holiday. We present a case in which refractory muscle spasms secondary to opioid withdrawal were successfully treated with an over-the-counter supplement that is not typically used for the attenuation of opioid withdrawal symptoms. In a patient intolerant to the side effects of clonidine, we were able to successfully wean chronic opiates by treating refractory muscle spasms with the serotonin precursor, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). We hypothesize that our success with this medication gives further credence to the role of serotonin in opioid withdrawal somatic symptomatology, and supports the need for future research to clarify the role of serotonin precursors or serotonin modulating drugs as potential alternatives in those unable to follow standard treatment protocols. Key words: 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), opioid withdrawal, muscle spasms, serotonin, drug holiday, chronic pain

scholarly journals Endogenous Opioids at the Intersection of Opioid Addiction, Pain, and Depression: The Search for a Precision Medicine Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 355-374
Author(s):  
Michael A. Emery ◽  
Huda Akil
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Mood Disorders ◽  
Sensation Seeking ◽  
The United States ◽  
Opioid Addiction ◽  
Endogenous Opioids ◽  
Opioid Abuse ◽  
Opioid System ◽  
Endogenous Opioid System ◽  
Endogenous Opioid

Opioid addiction and overdose are at record levels in the United States. This is driven, in part, by their widespread prescription for the treatment of pain, which also increased opportunity for diversion by sensation-seeking users. Despite considerable research on the neurobiology of addiction, treatment options for opioid abuse remain limited. Mood disorders, particularly depression, are often comorbid with both pain disorders and opioid abuse. The endogenous opioid system, a complex neuromodulatory system, sits at the neurobiological convergence point of these three comorbid disease states. We review evidence for dysregulation of the endogenous opioid system as a mechanism for the development of opioid addiction and/or mood disorder. Specifically, individual differences in opioid system function may underlie differences in vulnerability to opioid addiction and mood disorders. We also review novel research, which promises to provide more detailed understanding of individual differences in endogenous opioid neurobiology and its contribution to opioid addiction susceptibility.

Dietary and Metabolic Risk of Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Insights from Animal Models

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Yinji Liang ◽  
Lili Zou ◽  
Yaling Tian ◽  
Shuang Zhou ◽  
Xinhe Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Models ◽  
Dietary Patterns ◽  
Dietary Intervention ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Disorders ◽  
Exposure Period ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Metabolic Risk ◽  
Preclinical Research ◽  
Alcoholic Fatty Liver

Abstract Neuropsychiatric disorders are major causes of the global burden of diseases, frequently co-occurring with multiple comorbidities, especially obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its various risk factors in metabolic syndrome. While the determining factors of neuropsychiatric disorders are complex, recent studies have shown that there is a strong link between diet, metabolic state and neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression. There is no doubt that rodent models are of great value for preclinical research. Therefore, this article focuses on a rodent model of chronic consumption of high-fat diet (HFD), and/or the addition of a certain amount of cholesterol or sugar. Meanwhile, summarizes the pattern of diet that induces anxiety/depressive-like behaviour and the underlying mechanism. We highlight how dietary and metabolic risk influence neuropsychiatric behaviour in animals. Changes in dietary patterns, especially HFD, can induce anxiety or depression-like behaviours, which may vary by diet exposure period, sex, age, species, and genetic background of the animals used. Furthermore, dietary patterns significantly aggravate anxiety/depression-like behaviour in animal models of neuropsychiatric disorders. The mechanisms by which diet induces anxiety/depressive-like behaviour may involve neuroinflammation, neurotransmitters/neuromodulators, neurotrophins, and the gut-brain axis. Future research should be focused on elucidating the mechanism and identifying the contribution of diet and diet-induced metabolic risk to neuropsychiatric disorders, which can form the basis for future clinical dietary intervention strategies for neuropsychiatric disorders.

scholarly journals Advances in Preclinical Research Models of Radiation-Induced Cardiac Toxicity

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel A. Schlaak ◽  
Gopika SenthilKumar ◽  
Marjan Boerma ◽  
Carmen Bergom
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Cancer Therapy ◽  
Animal Models ◽  
Cancer Survivors ◽  
Normal Tissue ◽  
Small Animal ◽  
Preclinical Research ◽  
Motion Management ◽  
Radiation Delivery

Radiation therapy (RT) is an important component of cancer therapy, with >50% of cancer patients receiving RT. As the number of cancer survivors increases, the short- and long-term side effects of cancer therapy are of growing concern. Side effects of RT for thoracic tumors, notably cardiac and pulmonary toxicities, can cause morbidity and mortality in long-term cancer survivors. An understanding of the biological pathways and mechanisms involved in normal tissue toxicity from RT will improve future cancer treatments by reducing the risk of long-term side effects. Many of these mechanistic studies are performed in animal models of radiation exposure. In this area of research, the use of small animal image-guided RT with treatment planning systems that allow more accurate dose determination has the potential to revolutionize knowledge of clinically relevant tumor and normal tissue radiobiology. However, there are still a number of challenges to overcome to optimize such radiation delivery, including dose verification and calibration, determination of doses received by adjacent normal tissues that can affect outcomes, and motion management and identifying variation in doses due to animal heterogeneity. In addition, recent studies have begun to determine how animal strain and sex affect normal tissue radiation injuries. This review article discusses the known and potential benefits and caveats of newer technologies and methods used for small animal radiation delivery, as well as how the choice of animal models, including variables such as species, strain, and age, can alter the severity of cardiac radiation toxicities and impact their clinical relevance.

A Review of Drug Side Effect Identification Methods

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (26) ◽  
pp. 3096-3104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuai Deng ◽  
Yige Sun ◽  
Tianyi Zhao ◽  
Yang Hu ◽  
Tianyi Zang
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Drug Side Effects ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Network Methods ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
The One ◽  
Approved Drugs

Drug side effects have become an important indicator for evaluating the safety of drugs. There are two main factors in the frequent occurrence of drug safety problems; on the one hand, the clinical understanding of drug side effects is insufficient, leading to frequent adverse drug reactions, while on the other hand, due to the long-term period and complexity of clinical trials, side effects of approved drugs on the market cannot be reported in a timely manner. Therefore, many researchers have focused on developing methods to identify drug side effects. In this review, we summarize the methods of identifying drug side effects and common databases in this field. We classified methods of identifying side effects into four categories: biological experimental, machine learning, text mining and network methods. We point out the key points of each kind of method. In addition, we also explain the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Finally, we propose future research directions.

scholarly journals Cannabidiol Modulates the Motivational and Anxiety-Like Effects of 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) in Mice

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (15) ◽  
pp. 8304
Author(s):  
Laia Alegre-Zurano ◽  
Raúl López-Arnau ◽  
Miguel Á. Luján ◽  
Jordi Camarasa ◽  
Olga Valverde
Keyword(s):  
Conditioned Place Preference ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Place Preference ◽  
Bath Salts ◽  
Self Administration ◽  
Preclinical Research ◽  
Plus Maze ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Synthetic Cathinone ◽  
High Responders

3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) is a new psychoactive substance (NPS) and the most widespread and life-threatening synthetic cathinone of the “bath salts”. Preclinical research has proven the cocaine-like psychostimulant effects of MDPV and its potential for abuse. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychotropic phytocannabinoid that has emerged as a new potential treatment for drug addiction. Here, we tested the effects of CBD (20 mg/kg) on MDPV (2 mg/kg)-induced conditioned place preference and MDPV (0.05 and 0.075 mg/kg/infusion) self-administration paradigms. In addition, we assessed the effects of the co-administration of CBD and MDPV (3 and 4 mg/kg) on anxiety-like behaviour using the elevated plus maze (EPM). CBD mitigated the MDPV-induced conditioned place preference. On the contrary, CBD administration throughout the MDPV (0.075 mg/kg/infusion) self-administration increased drug-seeking and taking behaviours, but only in the high-responders group of mice. Furthermore, CBD exerted anxiolytic-like effects, exclusively in MDPV-treated mice. Taken together, our results indicate that CBD modulation of MDPV-induced motivational responses in mice varies depending on the requirements of the learning task, resulting in a complex response. Therefore, further research attempting to decipher the behavioural and molecular interactions between CBD and MDPV is needed.

scholarly journals Are We Paving the Way to Dig Out of the “Pandemic Hole”? A Narrative Review on SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination: From Animal Models to Human Immunization

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Tardiolo ◽  
Pina Brianti ◽  
Daniela Sapienza ◽  
Pia dell’Utri ◽  
Viviane Di Dio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Models ◽  
Viral Vector ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Preclinical Research ◽  
Inactivated Vaccines ◽  
Preclinical And Clinical Studies ◽  
Social Upheaval

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a new pathogen agent causing the coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19). This novel virus originated the most challenging pandemic in this century, causing economic and social upheaval internationally. The extreme infectiousness and high mortality rates incentivized the development of vaccines to control this pandemic to prevent further morbidity and mortality. This international scenario led academic scientists, industries, and governments to work and collaborate strongly to make a portfolio of vaccines available at an unprecedented pace. Indeed, the robust collaboration between public systems and private companies led to resolutive actions for accelerating therapeutic interventions and vaccines mechanism. These strategies contributed to rapidly identifying safe and effective vaccines as quickly and efficiently as possible. Preclinical research employed animal models to develop vaccines that induce protective and long-lived immune responses. A spectrum of vaccines is worldwide under investigation in various preclinical and clinical studies to develop both individual protection and safe development of population-level herd immunity. Companies employed and developed different technological approaches for vaccines production, including inactivated vaccines, live-attenuated, non-replicating viral vector vaccines, as well as acid nucleic-based vaccines. In this view, the present narrative review provides an overview of current vaccination strategies, taking into account both preclinical studies and clinical trials in humans. Furthermore, to better understand immunization, animal models on SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis are also briefly discussed.

THE ORIGINS OF MUSIC: INNATENESS, UNIQUENESS, AND EVOLUTION

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOSH McDERMOTT ◽  
MARC HAUSER
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Music Perception ◽  
Comparative Psychology ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Adaptive Significance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Relative Pitch ◽  
The Past ◽  
Evolution Of Music ◽  
Basic Features

THE ORIGINS and adaptive significance of music, long an elusive target, are now active topics of empirical study, with many interesting developments over the past few years. This article reviews research in anthropology, ethnomusicology, developmental and comparative psychology, neuropsychology, and neurophysiology that bears on questions concerning the origins and evolution of music. We focus on the hypothesis that music perception is constrained by innate, possibly human- and musicspecific principles of organization, as these are candidates for evolutionary explanations. We begin by discussing the distinct roles of different fields of inquiry in constraining claims about innateness and adaptation, and then proceed to review the available evidence. Although research on many of these topics is still in its infancy, at present there is converging evidence that a few basic features of music (relative pitch, the importance of the octave, intervals with simple ratios, tonality, and perhaps elementary musical preferences) are determined in part by innate constraints. At present, it is unclear how many of these constraints are uniquely human and specific to music. Many, however, are unlikely to be adaptations for music, but rather are probably side effects of more general-purpose mechanisms. We conclude by reiterating the significance of identifying processes that are innate, unique to humans, and specific to music, and highlight several possible directions for future research.

Alprazolam and Exposure for Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia

1994 ◽  
Vol 164 (5) ◽  
pp. 652-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Metin Başoglu ◽  
Isaac M. Marks ◽  
Cengiz Kiliç ◽  
Richard P. Swinson ◽  
Homa Noshirvani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Panic Disorder ◽  
Drug Treatment ◽  
Psychological Treatment ◽  
Illness Severity ◽  
Withdrawal Symptoms ◽  
Severe Withdrawal ◽  
End Of Treatment

Patients with panic disorder plus agoraphobia had 8 weeks of drug treatment (alprazolam or placebo) plus psychological treatment (exposure or relaxation). At the end of treatment at week 8, 40 patients who had become much/very much improved rated how much their gains were attributable to medication or to their own efforts. During the tapering-off to week 16, and treatment-free follow-up to week 43, patients who at week 8 had attributed their gains to medication and felt less confident in coping without tablets had more severe withdrawal symptoms and greater loss of gains than did patients who at week 8 had attributed their gains to their own efforts during treatment. Baseline illness severity, greater age, higher expectations from drug treatment, and more side-effects of drugs during treatment all predicted more external attributions (i.e. to the effect of drugs) but did not independently predict relapse. Patients on alprazolam compared with placebo had more drug attributions. Though drug attributions predicted relapse in both alprazolam and placebo groups, predictions were stronger in the alprazolam group.

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