Nalbuphine, a non-controlled opioid analgesic, and its potential use in research mice.

Nalbuphine is an inexpensive, non-controlled, opioid analgesic that has been in clinical use for decades. A kappa opioid receptor agonist and mu opioid receptor antagonist, nalbuphine causes fewer adverse effects than other opioid analgesics. The author reviews the characteristics of nalbuphine, analyzes studies of nalbuphine in mice and explores the potential use of nalbuphine to treat pain in research mice.

Care and monitoring of a mouse model of melanoma.

Melanoma is a devastating form of skin cancer in humans that is rising in incidence. Animal models of melanoma continue to be instrumental for understanding the disease and for developing and testing therapies. A novel line of melanoma-bearing mice developed at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke is monitored and cared for by the Animal Health Care Section.