The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology
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Int. J. Neuropsychopharmacol. · May 2013
ReviewEffects of pregabalin on sleep in generalized anxiety disorder.
Sleep disturbance is a cardinal symptom in both DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). This review summarizes the results of clinical trials and pooled analyses that provide data on pregabalin's effect on sleep disturbance in patients diagnosed with GAD. The hypothesized mechanism of action of pregabalin is distinctly different from other anxiolytics. ⋯ In patients with GAD, improvement in sleep has been found to be associated with a reduction in daytime sleepiness. However, dose-related sedation is reported, typically in the first 2 wk of treatment, in approximately 10-30% of patients, depending on the dose used and the speed of titration. Insomnia is a common component of the clinical presentation of GAD and pregabalin appears to be an efficacious treatment for this often chronic and disabling symptom.
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Int. J. Neuropsychopharmacol. · May 2013
The opioid placebo analgesia is mediated exclusively through μ-opioid receptor in rat.
Placebo analgesia is one of the most robust and best-studied placebo effects. Recent researches suggest that placebo analgesia activated the μ-opioid receptor signalling in the human brain. However, whether other opioid receptors are involved in the placebo analgesia remains unclear. ⋯ Then, animals were tested after intra-rACC microinjection of D-Phe-Cys-Tyr-D-Trp-Orn-Thr-Pen-Thr-NH(2) (CTOP, a selective μ-opioid receptor antagonist) or naltrindole (NTI, a highly selective δ-opioid receptor antagonist) or nor-binaltorphimine (nor-BNI, a highly selective κ-opioid receptor antagonist). Our results showed that CTOP, but not NTI or nor-BNI, could reduce the pain threshold in placebo analgesia rats. It may be concluded that rACC is the key brain region involved in placebo analgesia and the opioid placebo analgesia is mediated exclusively through μ-opioid receptor in rat.