Mu-Opioid agonists potenate amphetamine... (PubMed)

vicodelicious

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Another very interesting article from Pub Med:

Mu opioid agonists potentiate amphetamine- and cocaine-induced rotational behavior in the rat.

Kimmel HL, Holtzman SG.
Department of Pharmacology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.


Opioids modulate brain dopaminergic function in various experimental paradigms. This study used the rotational model of behavior in rats with unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine-induced lesions of the nigrostriatal pathway to investigate this interaction. Doses of two presynaptically acting dopaminergic drugs, amphetamine and cocaine, were coadministered with several doses of the mu opioid agonist, morphine. Morphine, at 3.0 mg/kg, potentiated rotational behavior induced by each dose of the stimulants. To determine the receptor specificity of the actions of morphine, the mu opioid agonists buprenorphine, fentanyl, levorphanol, meperidine, and methadone, and dextrorphan, the non-opioid isomer of levorphanol, were administered alone and with 1.0 mg/kg amphetamine. Each of these drugs, as well as morphine, produced circling behavior on its own. All of the mu opioid agonists and dextrorphan increased amphetamine-induced turning; the coadministration of dextrorphan, levorphanol, meperidine, methadone and morphine with amphetamine produced turning greater than predicted by simple additivity. To determine whether an opioid receptor was involved in these interactions, the opioid antagonist, naltrexone, was administered before the amphetamine/mu opioid receptor agonist combination. Naltrexone blocked the potentiating effects of morphine, but not those of the other drugs. Moreover, naltrexone alone dose-dependently increased amphetamine-induced rotational behavior. These studies show that some mu opioid receptor agonists can potentiate stimulant-induced rotational behavior and that blockade of opioid receptors can also produce a potentiation. The role of mu opioid receptors in these effects remains unclear.
PMID: 9262337 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Any opinions?

I just think this Pub Med stuff is fascinating. (The parts you can comprehend...)
 
The role of mu opioid receptors in these effects remains unclear.

There are a number of studies available that show Amphetamines, Cocaine (stimulants in general) are subjectively more pleasurable to opioid dependant persons than non-opioid dependant persons. One study was carried out with MMT patients, who were given various stimulants and reported the subjective effects/'likability' vs non-opioid dependant group. The MMT group noted more subjective euphoria than the non-MMT group.

Another example of those things that addicts have known for decades that science hasn't figured out. Like why opioid addicts generally quit drinking alcohol (and then resume drinking once they detox from opioids). And so on.
 
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