An experimental painkiller may be more effective and less dangerous than morphine, says a new study led by a Loyola University Health System anesthesiologist.
The drug, known as morphine-6-0-sulphate, has a similar structure to standard morphine. Results from the study, led by Dr. Joseph Holtman, Jr. while he was at the University of Kentucky, were published in the December 2010 issue of the European Journal of Pharmacology.
Standard morphine, along with oxycodone and hydrocodone, is a common pain reliever used to treat moderate to severe pain. While it is very effective, side effects such as nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, slowed heart and breathing rates and severe constipation are common.
Holtman and his colleagues tested the experimental drug as well as standard morphine on rats, using a number of tests to determine how well it helped ease pain and how severe the side effects were. The drugs were given either orally, by IV or by injection into the space around the spinal cord.
In one test, morphine-6-0-sulphate was 10 times more effective than standard morphine at relieving pain when given by injection, five times more effective by IV and two times more effective when given by mouth. Its maximum effect lasted for three hours, as opposed to standard morphine's 1.5 hours. In addition, rats who received morhpine-6-0-sulphate built up tolerance only after 25 days of use, compared to 10 days with standard morphine use.
The experimental drug was also more effective than morphine at treating neuropathic and inflammatory pain, and only caused constipation when used at 10-20 times the effective doses.
Holtman and his colleagues believe that morphine-6-0-sulphate "may be an interesting potential drug for further study." The study was funded by Insys, a biopharmaceutical company which develops pain management drugs as well as drugs to reduce chemotherapy side effects.
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