Ketorolac causes the release of methionine-enkephalin in rats

Ketorolac is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is indicated for the short-term management of moderately severe, acute pain, that causes analgesia equivalent to that caused by morphine. It has been shown experimentally that the analgesia produced by ketorolac in mice can be diminished by pretreatment with naloxone. This observation suggests that ketorolac produces some of its analgesia by interacting with opioid receptors. However, ketorolac does not directly interact with opioid receptors (Lopez et al., 1987). The present experiments demonstrate that the analgesia produced by ketorolac may be caused by the release of the endogenous opioid, methionine-enkephalin.