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[Opioids and immunosuppression. Clinical relevance?]
1Abteilung für Anaesthesiologie, Intensivmedizin und Schmerztherapie, Universitätsklinikum Giessen. Ingeborg.D.Welters@chiru.med.uni-giessen.de
Der Anaesthesist
|May 17, 2003
Summary
Opioids like morphine can suppress the immune system by affecting immune cells and the stress response. Further clinical studies are needed to understand the full impact of opioid-induced immunosuppression in various medical settings.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Pharmacology
- Anesthesiology
Context:
- Opioid-induced immunomodulation is increasingly recognized in modern anesthesia.
- Morphine's immunosuppressive effects are well-established.
- Opioid receptors are present on immune cells and in the central nervous system.
Purpose:
- To review the mechanisms and clinical relevance of opioid-induced immunosuppression.
- To highlight the need for further clinical investigation into opioid effects on immune regulation.
Summary:
- Morphine and other opioids can impair immune function through direct effects on immune cells and by modulating the stress response.
- Mechanisms involve opioid receptors on immunocytes and potential potentiation via the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis.
- Opioid-induced immunosuppression affects bactericidal activity, cellular proliferation, and cytokine synthesis.
Impact:
- Current clinical data on opioid-induced immunosuppression are preliminary and inconclusive.
- Further research is crucial to determine the clinical significance in anesthesia, critical care, pain management, and emergency medicine.
- Understanding these effects will help optimize opioid use for both analgesia and immune function balance.