Morphine and high-fat diet differentially alter the gut microbiota composition and metabolic function in lean versus obese mice.

There are known associations between opioids, obesity, and the gut microbiome, but the molecular connection/mediation of these relationships is not understood. To better clarify the interplay of physiological, genetic, and microbial factors, this study investigated the microbiome and host inflammatory responses to chronic opioid administration in genetically obese, diet-induced obese, and lean mice. Samples of feces, urine, colon tissue, and plasma were analyzed using targeted LC-MS/MS quantification of metabolites, immunoassays of inflammatory cytokine levels, genome-resolved metagenomics, and metaproteomics.

The Impact of Virtual Reality on Chronic Pain.

The treatment of chronic pain could benefit from additional non-opioid interventions. Virtual reality (VR) has been shown to be effective in decreasing pain for procedural or acute pain but to date there have been few studies on its use in chronic pain. The present study was an investigation of the impact of a virtual reality application for chronic pain.