Effect of acute inflammatory brain injury on accumulation of morphine and morphine 3- and 6-glucuronide in the human brain.

Objective: In animals, central nervous system inflammation increases drug accumulation in the brain partly due to a loss of central nervous system drug efflux transporter function at the blood-brain barrier. To determine whether a similar loss of active drug efflux occurs in humans after acute inflammatory brain injury.

Design: Observational human pharmacokinetic study.