Publications by authors named "Torben D Pearson"
Article Synopsis
- Carfentanil ([C]CFN) is the only carbon-11 labeled radiotracer used for PET imaging of mu opioid receptors, but its effects in preclinical studies haven't been fully explored.
- In studies with anesthetized rats, researchers found that higher doses of CFN led to significant changes in vital signs and a correlation between CFN mass and mu opioid receptor availability in the brain.
- The results suggest that controlling CFN dosage is crucial to avoid complications and accurately measure mu opioid receptor activity, highlighting the need for careful quality control in PET studies with this radiotracer.
The continuous rise in opioid overdoses in the United States is predominantly driven by very potent synthetic opioids, mostly fentanyl and its derivatives (fentanyls). Although naloxone (NLX) has been shown to effectively reverse overdoses by conventional opioids, there may be a need for higher or repeated doses of NLX to revert overdoses from highly potent fentanyls. Here, we used positron emission tomography (PET) to assess NLX's dose-dependence on both its rate of displacement of [C]carfentanil ([C]CFN) binding and its duration of mu opioid receptor (MOR) occupancy in the male rat brain.
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