Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0278080 (physical dependence)
 1,658 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Subcutaneous implantation of a pellet of methadone was presented as a novel method for the establishment of physical dependence upon this agent and it was compared to (1) the state of physical dependence induced by multiple injections of methadone, administered over several days, and (2) the dependence established by injections of morphine and the implantation of a morphine pellet. Comparable signs of drug dependence were observed in rats treated with both morphine and methadone following the administration of the opiate antagonist naloxone. The administration of interferon-alpha significantly attenuated the severity of the withdrawal syndrome in dependent rats after chronic exposure to morphine and to a lesser extent after morphine and methadone in combination. In contrast, alpha interferon did not affect 6 of the 7 abstinence signs in animals dependent upon methadone alone. The observations suggest that the states of physical dependence upon morphine and methadone may be separate phenomena that involve different physiological mechanisms. Thus, interferon may be a useful adjunct in the treatment of subjects dependent upon morphine but not in those dependent on methadone.
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PMID:Differential modification of morphine and methadone dependence by interferon alpha. 343 62

Opiates exert numerous effects on all levels of the central nervous system, with tolerance and physical dependence (addiction) being characteristics of this drug class. The capacity of the immune system to participate in processes primarily considered to be central nervous system phenomena has been suggested recently by several studies demonstrating the ability of various immune-modifiers to attenuate opiate withdrawal severity. Therefore, the immunomodulator agent, interferon was investigated to determine the effect upon the opiate withdrawal signs in an animal model. The degree of morphine dependence is measured by quantifying the various behavioral signs associated with naloxone-induced withdrawal. Three different preparations of human alpha interferon (alpha-IFN) were investigated to determine the duration of their attenuating effect upon the naloxone-induced abstinence syndrome in morphine-addicted rats. All three preparations of alpha-IFN reduced the severity of the opiate withdrawal (i.e., addiction) signs for several weeks. There were differences in the potency and the duration of the effects among the three different preparations of alpha-IFN.
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PMID:Single injection of three different preparations of alpha-interferon modifies morphine abstinence signs for a prolonged period. 359 38

Cyclophosphamide and cortisol, two nonspecific immunomodulators, significantly reduced the behavioral indices of naloxone-precipitated withdrawal in morphine dependent rats. Each immunomodulator reduced the morphine abstinence syndrome when administered either prior to or after chronic morphine treatment. Morphine exerts numerous effects on all levels of the central nervous system with tolerance, physical dependence, and a withdrawal syndrome being characteristics of this drug class. It is suggested that the degree of opiate dependence is directly correlated with the intensity of the behavioral withdrawal signs. Therefore, success in modifying the abstinence syndrome may lead to a better understanding of the dynamics of opiate dependence. The results reported herein coupled with similar findings for alpha-interferon and cyclosporine, suggest that opiate dependence may involve the immune system.
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PMID:Cyclophosphamide and cortisol reduce the severity of morphine withdrawal. 362 70

Opiates exert numerous effects on all levels of the central nervous system with tolerance, physical dependence and withdrawal being characteristics of this drug class. The degree of dependence is directly correlated to the intensity of withdrawal. Therefore, success in modifying the withdrawal syndrome may shed light on the dynamics of opiate addiction. The present study demonstrates that cyclosporine, a widely used immunosuppressive drug, considerably modified the behavioral signs of a naloxone-induced abstinence syndrome in morphine-addicted rats. In previous experiments, alpha-interferon has shown similar results. The similarity in actions of these two immunomodulator drugs is discussed and we suggest that opiate addiction may involve the immune system.
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PMID:Cyclosporine alters opiate withdrawal in rodents. 403 25

Morphine exert numerous effects of all levels of the central nervous system with tolerance, physical dependence and withdrawal being characteristic of this drug class. The degree of dependence is directly correlated to the intensity of withdrawal, success in modifying the withdrawal syndrome may shed light on the dynamic of morphine addiction. The present study demonstrated that alpha-interferon (IFN) significantly modifies the naloxone-induced abstinence syndrome in morphine dependent rats. Single cortical neurons recording and microiontophoretic application of IFN, morphine and naloxone failed to support existing hypothesis that IFN effects are mediated through opiate receptors. Since IFN's are widely present in animals bodies, including the brain, and are locally synthesized. Our observation suggests that IFN's are endocoids which serve to prevent tolerance and dependence to endogenous peptides.
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PMID:Interferon as an endocoids candidate preventing and attenuating opiate addiction. 408 Jul 13

A variety of in vitro immune measures were examined in groups of Lewis rats that chronically consumed either tap water or a 0.2, 0.4, or 0.6 mg/ml morphine drinking solution. Rats received a subcutaneous injection of either saline or 15 mg/kg morphine sulfate 1 h before sacrifice. In the drinking groups, the acute morphine injection significantly suppressed splenic natural killer (NK) cell activity, mitogen-stimulated splenic T- and B-cell proliferation and gamma-interferon (gamma-IFN) production. A single, acute injection of morphine did not suppress NK cell activity in rats that drank the two highest concentrations of morphine, whereas it did suppress the mitogen-stimulated splenic T- and B-cell proliferation and gamma-IFN production. These results suggest that rats that drank morphine for 20 days developed tolerance to morphine's suppressive effect on NK cell activity but not to other measures of immune status. Morphine drinking rats also developed tolerance to morphine's antinociceptive effects and revealed signs of physical dependence when the morphine solution was withdrawn or when naltrexone was administered.
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PMID:Tolerance development to morphine-induced alterations of immune status. 925 Apr 73