How Morphine Can Be Given More Effectively Without Having To Increase Dosages

[n2doc]

ScienceDaily (Apr. 28, 2009) — Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have found a way to maintain the pain-killing qualities of morphine over an extended period of time, thus providing a solution for the problem of having to administer increasing dosages of the drug in order to retain its effectiveness.

One of the limitations in long-term use of morphine for pain relief is the rapid development of tolerance. The effectiveness of morphine declines quickly, and one must increase the dosage in order to preserve effective pain relief. However, the increased dosage also increases negative side effects.

The Hebrew University researchers, Prof. Yehuda Shavit and his graduate student Gilly Wolf of the Psychology Department, found that administration of morphine causes a substance called interleukin-1 to be released.

Under normal circumstances, interleukin-1 plays an important role in survival. In case of tissue damage, nerve injury, or inflammatory reaction, inteleukin-1 is released and sets off a process which increases the sensitivity to pain in the injured area. This pain serves as a warning signal, telling the body that there is a problem that should be attended to. In case of chronic pain, morphine is still the drug of choice for pain relief.

However, since prolonged administration of morphine raises the level of interleukin-1, thereby enhancing pain sensitivity, the effectiveness of morphine as a pain killer is steadily reduced, requiring greater dosages with accompanying negative side effects.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090427075422.htm

[Warpy]

1. There is no upper level of morphine dosage at which it becomes

lethal. That means that increasing the dosage in chronic pain patients who require it isn't a big problem for anybody but the doctor who has the DEA breathing down the back of his neck.

However, adding an interleukin-2 inhibitor would be a great advantage, probably reducing withdrawal symptoms should a prescription refill be delayed while keeping the effective dosage level.