Commonly used opioids and pain relievers have just raised another major question; can they actually cause chronic pain, and have the reverse effect from the intended one?
According to the study published on April 16 of this year by the University of Colorado, the answer is yes, they can. The topic of the study were the effects of opioids on pain in post-surgical scenarios. The subjects of the study were rats, and an exploratory surgery in the abdominal region was performed on them. The procedure is commonly known as laparotomy, and it is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures in the world, usually performed on pelvic disorder patients. Opioids are a standard practice when it comes to post-op recovery.
Rats involved in the study were given appropriate doses of morphine for seven days after the intervention, with a control group of rats being injected saline solution. A second experiment was performed to determine the effects of the morphine use, two days after the week of regular use, while a third experiment focused on subjects being given morphine for seven days before the surgery. Afterwards, all subjects were tested for inflammation markers in the spinal cord, and also for sensitivity to touch.
The results of the study came as a big surprise, even to the researchers. According to the results, managing post-op pain with opioids leads to prolonged pain, for up to three weeks more compared to the subjects that received the saline solution. Opioids also showed to cause further pain sensitivity in the spinal cord nerves. Rats that received morphine for longer period of time had even longer periods of pain sensitivity. Getting them off the drugs showed no effects on pain sensitivity, and this is why it’s believed that opioids can cause an increase in pain in just two days of use.
During their interview with Science Daily, the lead team behind the study shared that they are aware of the implications that these findings can have on the entire health system, as basically every hospital relies on opioids for the post-operative process pain management. They also expressed awareness that their findings can impact the debate on opioid abuse that is happening world-wide.
Professor Linda Watkins, senior author of the study, says that the one-two hit on our immune system, first by the surgery and then by the opioids, can be devastating to our body. She states that this stress can affect our glial cells, leading to inflammation and even tissue damage.
Even though much more clinical research is needed, first on animals then on humans, to definitely determine the connection between opioid use and chronic pain, we can only assume what other types of medication do to our body. Most other meds aren’t even examined in this way, and even this trial’s results came while searching for other answers. Taking opioids is not something that can be recommended, at least until medical research shows otherwise.
Source:
http://www.greenmedinfo.com