Preclinical Assessment of a Strategy to Minimize the Abuse Liability of Opiate Medications for Pain
Abstract
A major reason for the clinical under treatment of chronic pain in the military lies in the continued, and valid, concern that overtreatment may result in the development of drug dependency, which ultimately results in the need for detoxification and long term treatment of the induced dependency/addiction. Therefore, in an ongoing effort to develop an effective pharmacological approach designed specifically to prevent drug dependence that may result from appropriate therapeutic administration of opiate analgesics such as morphine or prescription medications, our goal is to measure the addictive liability of a standard opiate analgesic (morphine), administered in excess of that required to effectively manage pain in a clinically relevant animal model. We have tested two animal models; the Formalin Paw Test (FPT) and the Acetic Acid (AA) writhing test in the context of a reward model, the Conditioned Place Preference (CPP) test. Our ultimate goal is to determine if -vinyl GABA (GVG), a compound that blocks the rewarding effects of a number of addictive drugs but does not itself produce tolerance or dependence can reduce or eliminate the addictive liability of an excessive dose of morphine. This is a novel strategy to eliminate the prevalence of substance abuse in returning and active military personnel, while safely insuring that adequate pain relief will be available without the fear of addiction. During the grant period, substantial progress has been made.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1048451
Entities
People
- Wynne Schiffer
Organizations
- University of Minnesota