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Dunn KE, Huhn AS, Bergeria CL, Gipson CD, Weerts EM. Non-Opioid Neurotransmitter Systems that Contribute to the Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome: A Review of Preclinical and Human Evidence. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2019; 371:422-452. [PMID: 31391211 PMCID: PMC6863456 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.119.258004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Opioid misuse and abuse is a major international public health issue. Opioid use disorder (OUD) is largely maintained by a desire to suppress aversive opioid withdrawal symptoms. Opioid withdrawal in patients seeking abstinence from illicit or prescribed opioids is often managed by provision of a μ-opioid agonist/partial agonist in combination with concomitant medications. Concomitant medications are administered based on their ability to treat specific symptoms rather than a mechanistic understanding of the opioid withdrawal syndrome; however, their use has not been statistically associated with improved treatment outcomes. Understanding the central and/or peripheral mechanisms that underlie individual withdrawal symptom expression in humans will help promote medication development for opioid withdrawal management. To support focused examination of mechanistically supported concomitant medications, this review summarizes evidence from preclinical (N = 68) and human (N = 30) studies that administered drugs acting on the dopamine, serotonin, cannabinoid, orexin/hypocretin, and glutamate systems and reported outcomes related to opioid withdrawal. These studies provide evidence that each of these systems contribute to opioid withdrawal severity. The Food and Drug Administration has approved medications acting on these respective systems for other indications and research in this area could support the repurposing of these medications to enhance opioid withdrawal treatment. These data support a focused examination of mechanistically informed concomitant medications to help reduce opioid withdrawal severity and enhance the continuum of care available for persons with OUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly E Dunn
- Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland (K.D.E., A.S.H., C.L.B., E.M.W.); and Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (C.D.G.)
| | - Andrew S Huhn
- Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland (K.D.E., A.S.H., C.L.B., E.M.W.); and Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (C.D.G.)
| | - Cecilia L Bergeria
- Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland (K.D.E., A.S.H., C.L.B., E.M.W.); and Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (C.D.G.)
| | - Cassandra D Gipson
- Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland (K.D.E., A.S.H., C.L.B., E.M.W.); and Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (C.D.G.)
| | - Elise M Weerts
- Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland (K.D.E., A.S.H., C.L.B., E.M.W.); and Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (C.D.G.)
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Hutchison KE, Hagerty SL, Galinkin J, Bryan AD, Bidwell LC. Cannabinoids, Pain, and Opioid Use Reduction: The Importance of Distilling and Disseminating Existing Data. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res 2019; 4:158-164. [PMID: 31579833 PMCID: PMC6757236 DOI: 10.1089/can.2018.0052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The high prevalence of chronic pain conditions combined with an over-reliance on opioid prescriptions has resulted in an opioid epidemic and a desperate need for solutions. There is some debate about whether cannabis might play a role in addressing chronic pain conditions as well as the opioid epidemic. Recent surveys suggest that a large number of people are using cannabis as a treatment for pain and to reduce use of opioids, and cannabis-derived products demonstrate at least modest efficacy in the treatment of pain in randomized controlled trials. In addition, surveillance studies from countries that have approved the use of Sativex, which is a cannabis-based product, have demonstrated that a combination of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol has low potential for harm, is well tolerated, and is helpful to patients. Given the number of people in the United States who are already using cannabis to manage pain and opioid use in state-regulated markets, it is imperative to conduct additional research in these areas, and to disseminate information on how to minimize harm and maximize any benefits of using cannabinoids to mitigate pain and reduce opioid use. The purpose of this article is to call attention to the fact that cannabis is being used in the management of chronic pain. Thus, this article also provides a set of guidelines on how to approach using cannabis to treat pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kent E. Hutchison
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Sarah L. Hagerty
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
| | - Jeffrey Galinkin
- Pediatric Anesthesiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Angela D. Bryan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
| | - L. Cinnamon Bidwell
- Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
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53
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Unhealthy Cannabis Use among Recreational and Medical Cannabis Users with Type 1 Diabetes. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADDICTION 2019. [DOI: 10.1097/cxa.0000000000000061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Raji MA, Abara NO, Salameh H, Westra JR, Kuo YF. Association between cannabis laws and opioid prescriptions among privately insured adults in the US. Prev Med 2019; 125:62-68. [PMID: 31125629 PMCID: PMC6582995 DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.05.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2018] [Revised: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
We examine the association between opioid prescription patterns in privately insured adults and changes in state cannabis laws among five age groups (18-25, 26-35 36-45, 46-55 and 56-64 years). Using the 2016 Clinformatics Data Mart, a nationwide commercial health insurance database, we performed a cross-sectional analysis of two types of opioid prescribing (>30-day and >90-day prescriptions) among all adults aged 18-64 based on the stringency of cannabis laws. We found a significant interaction between age and cannabis law on opioid prescriptions. Age-stratified multilevel multivariable analyses showed lower opioid prescription rates in the four younger age groups only in states with medical cannabis laws, when considering both >30 day and >90 day opioid use [>30 day adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.56, in 18-25, aOR = 0.67 in 26-35, aOR = 0.67 in 36-45, and aOR = 0.76 in 46-54 years; >90 day aOR = 0.56, in 18-25, aOR = 0.68 in 26-35, aOR = 0.69 in 36-45, and aOR = 0.77 in 46-54 years, P < 0.0001 for all]. This association was not significant in the oldest age group of 55-64 years. There was no significant association between opioid prescriptions and other categories of cannabis laws (recreational use and decriminalization) in any of the age groups studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mukaila A Raji
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0177, United States of America; Sealy Center on Aging, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0177, United States of America.
| | - N Ogechi Abara
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0177, United States of America
| | - Habeeb Salameh
- Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, United States of America
| | - Jordan R Westra
- Office of Biostatistics, Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-1148, United States of America
| | - Yong-Fang Kuo
- Sealy Center on Aging, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0177, United States of America; Office of Biostatistics, Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-1148, United States of America
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Gonzalez CJ, Quackenbush N, Stancliff S. Cannabis as a Substitute for Opioids. JAMA 2019; 322:272-273. [PMID: 31310290 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2019.6451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Charles John Gonzalez
- AIDS Institute/Office of the Medical Director, New York State Department of Health, New York
| | - Nicole Quackenbush
- Medical Marijuana Program, New York State Department of Health, New York
| | - Sharon Stancliff
- AIDS Institute/Office of the Medical Director, New York State Department of Health, New York
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Affiliation(s)
- Keith Humphreys
- Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California
| | - Richard Saitz
- Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
- , Chicago, Illinois
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57
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Association between medical cannabis laws and opioid overdose mortality has reversed over time. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:12624-12626. [PMID: 31182592 PMCID: PMC6600903 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1903434116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Medical cannabis has been touted as a solution to the US opioid overdose crisis since Bachhuber et al. [M. A. Bachhuber, B. Saloner, C. O. Cunningham, C. L. Barry, JAMA Intern. Med. 174, 1668–1673] found that from 1999 to 2010 states with medical cannabis laws experienced slower increases in opioid analgesic overdose mortality. That research received substantial attention in the scientific literature and popular press and served as a talking point for the cannabis industry and its advocates, despite caveats from the authors and others to exercise caution when using ecological correlations to draw causal, individual-level conclusions. In this study, we used the same methods to extend Bachhuber et al.’s analysis through 2017. Not only did findings from the original analysis not hold over the longer period, but the association between state medical cannabis laws and opioid overdose mortality reversed direction from −21% to +23% and remained positive after accounting for recreational cannabis laws. We also uncovered no evidence that either broader (recreational) or more restrictive (low-tetrahydrocannabinol) cannabis laws were associated with changes in opioid overdose mortality. We find it unlikely that medical cannabis—used by about 2.5% of the US population—has exerted large conflicting effects on opioid overdose mortality. A more plausible interpretation is that this association is spurious. Moreover, if such relationships do exist, they cannot be rigorously discerned with aggregate data. Research into therapeutic potential of cannabis should continue, but the claim that enacting medical cannabis laws will reduce opioid overdose death should be met with skepticism.
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58
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Affiliation(s)
- John W Ayers
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla
| | - Theodore L Caputi
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla
| | - Eric C Leas
- Division of Health Policy, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla
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59
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Johnson MI. The Landscape of Chronic Pain: Broader Perspectives. MEDICINA (KAUNAS, LITHUANIA) 2019; 55:E182. [PMID: 31117297 PMCID: PMC6572619 DOI: 10.3390/medicina55050182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2019] [Revised: 05/09/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Chronic pain is a global health concern. This special issue on matters related to chronic pain aims to draw on research and scholarly discourse from an eclectic mix of areas and perspectives. The purpose of this non-systematic topical review is to précis an assortment of contemporary topics related to chronic pain and its management to nurture debate about research, practice and health care policy. The review discusses the phenomenon of pain, the struggle that patients have trying to legitimize their pain to others, the utility of the acute-chronic dichotomy, and the burden of chronic pain on society. The review describes the introduction of chronic primary pain in the World Health Organization's International Classification of Disease, 11th Revision and discusses the importance of biopsychosocial approaches to manage pain, the consequences of overprescribing and shifts in service delivery in primary care settings. The second half of the review explores pain perception as a multisensory perceptual inference discussing how contexts, predictions and expectations contribute to the malleability of somatosensations including pain, and how this knowledge can inform the development of therapies and strategies to alleviate pain. Finally, the review explores chronic pain through an evolutionary lens by comparing modern urban lifestyles with genetic heritage that encodes physiology adapted to live in the Paleolithic era. I speculate that modern urban lifestyles may be painogenic in nature, worsening chronic pain in individuals and burdening society at the population level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark I Johnson
- Centre for Pain Research, School of Clinical and Applied Sciences, City Campus, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds LS1 3HE, UK.
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Lum HD, Arora K, Croker JA, Qualls SH, Schuchman M, Bobitt J, Milavetz G, Kaskie B. Patterns of Marijuana Use and Health Impact: A Survey Among Older Coloradans. Gerontol Geriatr Med 2019; 5:2333721419843707. [PMID: 31065574 PMCID: PMC6487769 DOI: 10.1177/2333721419843707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2018] [Revised: 02/14/2019] [Accepted: 03/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Access to recreational and medical marijuana is common in the United States, particularly in states with legalized use. Here, we describe patterns of recreational and medical marijuana use and self-reported health among older persons using a geographically sampled survey in Colorado. The in-person or online survey was offered to community-dwelling older persons aged above 60 years. We assessed past-year marijuana use including recreational, medical, or both; methods of use; marijuana source; reasons for use; sociodemographic and health factors; and self-reported health. Of 274 respondents (mean age = 72.5 years, 65% women), 45% reported past-year marijuana use. Of these, 54% reported using marijuana both medically and recreationally. Using more than one marijuana method or preparation was common. Reasons for use included arthritis, chronic back pain, anxiety, and depression. Past-year marijuana users reported improved overall health, quality of life, day-to-day functioning, and improvement in pain. Odds of past-year marijuana use decreased with each additional year of age. The odds were lower among women and those with higher self-reported health status; odds of use were higher with past-year opioid use. Older persons with access to recreational and medical marijuana described concurrent use of medical and recreational marijuana, use of multiple preparations, and overall positive health impacts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hillary D. Lum
- Eastern Colorado VA Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Aurora, CO, USA
- University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
| | | | | | - Sara H. Qualls
- Gerontology Center University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA
| | - Melissa Schuchman
- Gerontology Center University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, USA
| | - Julie Bobitt
- University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
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