Cichewicz Diana L
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA.
Life Sci. 2004 Jan 30;74(11):1317-24. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2003.09.038.
Cannabinoids and opioids both produce analgesia through a G-protein-coupled mechanism that blocks the release of pain-propagating neurotransmitters in the brain and spinal cord. However, high doses of these drugs, which may be required to treat chronic, severe pain, are accompanied by undesirable side effects. Thus, a search for a better analgesic strategy led to the discovery that delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major psychoactive constituent of marijuana, enhances the potency of opioids such as morphine in animal models. In addition, studies have determined that the analgesic effect of THC is, at least in part, mediated through delta and kappa opioid receptors, indicating an intimate connection between cannabinoid and opioid signaling pathways in the modulation of pain perception. A host of behavioral and molecular experiments have been performed to elucidate the role of opioid receptors in cannabinoid-induced analgesia, and some of these findings are presented below. The aim of such studies is to develop a novel analgesic regimen using low dose combinations of cannabinoids and opioids to effectively treat acute and chronic pain, especially pain that may be resistant to opioids alone.
大麻素和阿片类药物都通过一种G蛋白偶联机制产生镇痛作用，该机制可阻止大脑和脊髓中传播疼痛的神经递质的释放。然而，治疗慢性、重度疼痛可能需要高剂量的这些药物，而这会伴随着不良副作用。因此，对更好的镇痛策略的探索导致了这样一个发现：δ9-四氢大麻酚（THC），大麻的主要精神活性成分，在动物模型中可增强吗啡等阿片类药物的效力。此外，研究已经确定，THC的镇痛作用至少部分是通过δ和κ阿片受体介导的，这表明大麻素和阿片类信号通路在疼痛感知调节中存在密切联系。已经进行了大量行为和分子实验来阐明阿片受体在大麻素诱导的镇痛中的作用，以下是其中一些研究结果。此类研究的目的是开发一种使用低剂量大麻素和阿片类药物组合的新型镇痛方案，以有效治疗急性和慢性疼痛，尤其是单独使用阿片类药物可能无效的疼痛。
