Download Narcotic painkillers prolong pain, CU

Narcotic painkillers prolong pain, CU-Boulder study finds
May 30, 2016
Peter Grace
As paradoxical as this may sound, a new CU-Boulder study reveals that opioids like
morphine have now been shown to cause an increase in chronic pain in lab rats,
findings that could have far-reaching implications for humans, says researcher Peter
Grace. He says that just a few days of morphine treatment caused chronic pain that
went on for several months by exacerbating the release of pain signals from specific
immune cells in the spinal cord.
CUT 1 “The study shows that morphine treatment after nerve injury doubles the
duration of pain. So we know that opioids are signaling at this immune receptor
that’s expressed in the spinal cord, among other places, that’s recognizing opioids as
something that’s foreign and needs to be eliminated (:18) and so it’s triggering this
immune response causing the release of these pain molecules that are then
increasing the perception of pain in the brain.” (:27)
Peter Grace is an assistant research professor in CU-Boulder’s Department of
Psychology and Neuroscience. The results suggest that the recent escalation of
opioid prescriptions in humans may be a contributor to chronic pain, said Grace.
CUT 2 “Initially the morphine does work and it produces great pain relief and we
know that over time the ability for morphine to produce analgesia or pain relief
diminishes over time. (:13) And what we’re showing is rather than alleviating pain it’s
actually inducing it.” (:18)
The study showed that the injury sends a message from damaged cells to spinal
cord immune cells known as glial cells, which normally act as “housekeepers” to
clear out unwanted debris and microorganisms. The first signal of pain sends glial
cells into an alert mode, priming them for further action.
CUT 3 “In this case I really don’t think it’s a healthy thing to do. I think that this is an
aberrant response. (:06) These are evolutionary ancient receptors and so they
recognize really broad patterns and so the pattern of morphine is being recognized
by these receptors as something that’s foreign and needs to be eliminated” (:20)
On the up side, the researchers have found ways to block specific receptors on glial
cells that recognize opioids. This could allow for some pain relief while potentially
preventing chronic pain.
CUT 4 “I think the steps forward with this then is looking to inhibit this immune
response as an adjuvant to pain relief. (08) So you can still take your opioids but if
you block this immune response that’s occurring at the same time then you can still
get that pain relief but you can prevent these long term consequences from
occurring.” (:20)
Roughly 20,000 Americans died in 2015 from overdoses of prescription opioid pain
relievers, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
-CU-