It was hypothesized that a metabolite of morphine, morphine-3-glucuronide (M3G), contributes to the expression of symptoms seen during withdrawal from morphine. To test this hypothesis, the behaviors observed during precipitated withdrawal from morphine and sufentanil were compared. Sufentanil was chosen because, like morphine, it acts primarily at the mu opioid receptor, but has different metabolites. Differences in the abstinence syndromes produced by the two drugs may therefore be attributable to the actions of metabolites, rather than the primary opioid actions of morphine and sufentanil. Although there were some differences in the occurrence of symptoms, morphine and sufentanil withdrawal were very similar. Therefore, the evidence was inconclusive as to the contribution of metabolites during withdrawal. / Systemic administration of M3G alone and in combination with morphine produced no withdrawal-like behaviors. However, when these drugs were given centrally, withdrawal-like behaviors were observed in conjunction with seizures. The seizures were not attenuated by naloxone (but were alleviated by an anti-convulsant), indicating that they were not mediated by opioid receptors. The behaviors resembled those seen by previous investigators following high doses of morphine. The results suggest that M3G may play a role in the toxic effects of high doses of morphine.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.56639 |
| Date | January 1992 |
| Creators | Fundytus, Marian Elaine |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Psychology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001318469, proquestno: AAIMM80412, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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