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Assessment of Morphine-induced Hyperalgesia and Analgesic Tolerance in Mice Using Thermal and Mechanical Nociceptive Modalities
Published on: July 29, 2014
A comparative study of oxycodone and morphine in a multi-modal, tissue-differentiated experimental pain model
Camilla Staahl1, Lona Louring Christrup, Søren Due Andersen
1Center for Visceral Biomechanics and Pain, Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Aalborg, Denmark. cst@smi.auc.dk
Pain
|April 8, 2006
Summary
Oxycodone demonstrated superior pain relief for esophageal visceral pain compared to morphine in healthy subjects. This study highlights oxycodone as a potential alternative for treating visceral pain syndromes.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology
- Pain Management
- Clinical Trials
Background:
- Visceral pain is challenging to manage with traditional mu-opioid agonists.
- Opioids with unique pharmacological profiles are being explored for visceral pain.
- Animal studies and clinical observations suggest oxycodone may be more effective than morphine for visceral pain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the analgesic effects of morphine and oxycodone in a multi-modal, tissue-differentiated experimental pain model.
- To investigate the distinct pharmacological profiles of morphine and oxycodone in human subjects.
Main Methods:
- A randomized, crossover study involving 24 healthy subjects.
- Administration of oral morphine (30 mg), oxycodone (15 mg), or placebo.
- Multi-modal pain testing (mechanical, thermal, electrical) in skin, muscles, and viscera at baseline and at 30, 60, and 90 minutes post-administration.
Main Results:
- Both morphine and oxycodone showed significant analgesic effects compared to placebo across all tested tissues and modalities (P < 0.001).
- Morphine and oxycodone were equipotent in modulating pain in skin and muscles.
- Oxycodone exhibited a superior analgesic effect compared to both morphine and placebo for mechanical and thermal esophageal stimulation (P < 0.001).
Conclusions:
- The developed pain model effectively bridges findings from animal research to clinical observations.
- Oxycodone possesses a distinct pharmacological profile compared to morphine.
- Oxycodone presents a promising alternative for managing visceral pain syndromes.
