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Advances in opioid pharmacology

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Abstract

Natural and synthetic opioid compounds, either alone or in combination with other drugs, are widely used analgesics for patients with both acute and chronic pain. Decades of extensive pharmacologic investigations have characterized three high-affinity cell-surface neuronal receptors, the activation of which is responsible for both the desirable properties (antinociception) and undesirable properties (respiratory depression, nausea and vomiting, dependence, etc.) of opioid drugs. Recent research in molecular biology and pharmacogenetics in relation to opioids and their receptors has helped clarify previous pharmacologic observations and has laid the groundwork for new analgesic therapies with improved therapeutic outcomes.

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Acknowledgements

The preparation of this article was supported by Endo Pharmaceuticals, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, with editorial assistance provided by Accel Medical Education, New York, New York.

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  1. Pain Management Unit, Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Management, Flinders Medical Centre, The Flinders University of South Australia, 5042, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia

    Geoffrey K. Gourlay

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Correspondence to Geoffrey K. Gourlay.

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Gourlay, G.K. Advances in opioid pharmacology. Support Care Cancer 13, 153–159 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-004-0690-6

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