Articles: analgesics.
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The relationship between analgesic activity, measured as the hot plate reaction time, and respiratory depression, measured as ventilatory frequency, was investigated in mice for a variety of mu opioid receptor agonists with differing selectivities for mu receptors compared with delta receptors. There was a weak correlation between analgesia and respiratory depression for opioids with the greatest selectivity for mu opioid receptors compared with delta receptors, such as alfentanil. ⋯ Etorphine, which has almost equal affinity for mu, delta and, incidentally, kappa receptors, showed a strong correlation between analgesia and respiratory depression. We conclude that the predictability of the degree of respiratory depression produced by a given analgesic dose of an opioid appears to decrease with its selectivity for mu opioid receptors, at least in the mouse.
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Fag Tidsskr Sykepleien · Oct 1991
Historical Article[Pharmacology (12). Pain-killing agents--history].