Opioid overdose accounts for nearly 75,000 deaths per year in the United States, now a leading cause of mortality among young people aged 18 to 45 years. At overdose levels, opioid-induced respiratory depression becomes fatal without the administration of naloxone within minutes. Currently, overdose survival relies on bystander intervention, requiring a nearby person to find the overdosed individual and have immediate access to naloxone to administer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Millions of Americans suffering from Opioid Use Disorders (OUD) face a high risk of fatal overdose due to opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD). Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, is a major contributor to the rising rates of overdose deaths. Reversing fentanyl-induced respiratory depression has proved to be challenging due to both its high potency and lipophilicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs a syndrome, chronic pain comprises physical, emotional, and cognitive symptoms such as disability, negative affect, feelings of stress, and fatigue. A rodent model of long-term inflammatory pain, induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) injection, has previously been shown to cause anhedonia and dysregulated naturalistic behaviors, in a manner similar to animal models of stress. We examined whether this extended to alterations in circadian rhythms and sleep, such as those induced by chronic social defeat stress, using actigraphy and wireless EEG.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOpioid withdrawal is a liability of chronic opioid use and misuse, impacting people who use prescription or illicit opioids. Hyperactive autonomic output underlies many of the aversive withdrawal symptoms that make it difficult to discontinue chronic opioid use. The locus coeruleus (LC) is an important autonomic centre within the brain with a poorly defined role in opioid withdrawal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOpioid overdose accounts for nearly 75,000 deaths per year in the United States, representing a leading cause of mortality amongst the prime working age population (25-54 years). At overdose levels, opioid-induced respiratory depression becomes fatal without timely administration of the rescue drug naloxone. Currently, overdose survival relies entirely on bystander intervention, requiring a nearby person to discover and identify the overdosed individual, and have immediate access to naloxone to administer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF