Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
9087385 | Journal of Pain and Symptom Management | 2005 | 8 Pages |
Abstract
Opioids provide excellent pain relief in most patients. Yet the responses of patients to individual opioids can vary markedly, even among the μ opioids. Understanding this variability would greatly enhance our ability to treat patients appropriately. Classical pharmacological studies have long implied the existence of multiple subtypes of μ opioid receptors. More recently, a number of variants of the cloned μ opioid receptor have been described. These variants all show the same selectivity for μ opioids, confirming their classification as μ opioid receptors. Yet, they differ in their functional activation by opioids as well as in their localization within cells and regions in the brain. These multiple μ opioid receptors may help explain the range of responses seen clinically among patients for the various opioid drugs.
Related Topics
Life Sciences
Neuroscience
Neurology
Authors
Gavril W. MD, PhD,