Week 7 - Pain Physiology & Opioids Flashcards
What is the definition of acute pain?
The direct result of tissue damage or potential damage and is a symptom
- Well defined onset and clear pathology
- Protect from tissue damage and allow time for healing
- Frequently observable tissue damage
- Usually adequately treated by pharmacological and treatment methods
- It is useful and protective
What are the four components of nociception?
Transduction
Transmission
Modulation
Perception
What are nociceptors?
Specialized class of primary afferents that respond to intense, noxious stimuli in skin, muscles, joints, viscera, and vasculature
- respond to multiple energy forms (thermal, mechanical, and chemical) that produce injury
- provide info to CNS regarding location and intensity of noxious stimuli
- are inactive until they are stimulated by sufficient energy to reach the threshold
What are the types of nociceptors?
C Fibers: unmyelinated, burning pain from heat stimuli and pain from sustained pressure
A Fibers Type 1 (Beta and some delta): myelinated, responsive to heat, mechanical, and chemical stimuli (polymodal), fast pain (>2m/sec)
A Fibers Type II (Delta): first pain sensation from heat (15m/sec)
What is the sensitization of nociceptors?
Increased responsiveness of peripheral neurons responsible for pain transmission to heat, cold, mechanical, or chemical stimuli
*frequently occurs and is attributed to the release of inflammatory mediators
What functions as a relay center for nociceptive and other sensory activity?
The spinal dorsal horn
Where does the perception of sensory-discriminative of peripheral painful stimuli occur (i.e. location and intensity of pain)?
Forebrain Somatosensory Cortex
Where does the perception of motivation-affective components of pain occur?
Limbic Cortex (Amygdala) and Thalamus
What modulates (either depress or facilitate) the integration of painful information in the spinal dorsal horn?
Descending projections originating from Periaqueductal Gray-Rostral Ventromedial Medulla system
What are the ascending pathways for pain transmission?
From spinal cord to sites in the brainstem and thalamus – important for perception and integration of nociceptive information
- Spinothalamic Tract (direct projections to thalamus)
- Spinomedullary and Spinobulbar Projections (direct projections to homeostatic control regions in medulla/brainstem)
- Spinohypothalamic Tract (direct projections to the hypothalamus and ventral forebrain)
What are the descending pathways of pain modulation?
Originate from supraspinal regions and promote or supress nociceptive transmission through the dorsal horn
- Descending Inhibition Pathway
- Descending Facilitation Pathway
What are the inhibitory neurotransmitter effects on pain?
- GABA (cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, cerebellum, spinal cord): increases Cl- which hyperpolarizes
- ACh: increases K+ conductance in peripheral PNS
- Dopamine: most likely inhibitory by acting on adenylate cyclase
- Norepi: RAS & hypothalamus (inhibitory)
- Epi: RAS (inhibitory)
- Glycine (spinal cord): increases Cl-
- Endorphins: excitatory for descending inhibitory pathway that inhibits pain transmission
- Serotonin: inhibitory in the brain
- Histamine: hypothalamus and RAS (inhibitory)
What are the excitatory neurotransmitters effects on pain?
- Glutamate (hippocampus, outer layer of cerebral cortex, substantia gelatinosa): learning and memory (recall), central pain transduction, and excitotoxic neuronal injury
- Inotropic Glutamate Receptors (NMDA receptors): ligand operated channel opens - influx of Na+, membrane depolarization
What is the mechanism of action of opioids?
Act as agonists at specific opioid receptors at presynaptic and postsynaptic sites in the CNS (brainstem and spinal cord) and the periphery
- Mimic the actions of the endogenous ligands (Enkephalins, Endorphins, and Dynorphins) by binding to opioid receptors, resulting in the activation of the antinociceptive system
- do not alter responsiveness of peripheral nerves to noxious stimuli nor impair impulse transmission
What state do opioids need to be in order to bind to the receptor?
Needs to be in the ionized state for strong binding to occur
Only levorotatory forms of the opioids exhibit agonist activity
What is the principal effect of opioid receptor activation?
A decrease in neurotransmission
- this occurs largely by presynaptic inhibition of neurotransmitter release (ACh, Dopamine, Norepi, Substance P)
- postsynaptic inhibition of evoked activity may also occur
What are the intracellular biochemical events initiated by occupation of opioid receptors with an opioid agonist?
Increased K+ conductance (hyperpolarization) and/or Ca++ channel inactivation
Leads to immediate decrease in neurotransmitter
*opioid receptor-mediated inhibition of adenylate cyclase is not responsible for immediate effect but may have a delayed effect (via reduction in cAMP)
Opioid cross the blood brain barrier based on what? (4)
- Molecular size (smaller is better)
- Lipid solubility (lipid soluble is better)
- Non-ionized is better
- Protein binding (greater protein bound = less drug available to cross)
What are the types of opioid receptors? What endogenous opioid bind to each type?
Mu – Endorphins and Endomorphins
Delta – Endorphins and Enkephalins
Kappa – Dynorphins
*the opioid-receptor-like 1 (ORL1) is involved in pain response and opioid tolerance
Where are opioid mu receptors located?
Brain: cortex, thalamus, striatum, periaqueductal gray, and rostra ventromedial medulla
Spinal cord: substantia gelatinosa
Peripheral sensory neurons
Intestinal tract
What are the actions of opioid mu receptors?
- Sedation
- Analgesia
- Physical Dependence
- Respiratory Depression (Mu2)
- Miosis
- Euphoria
- Reduced GI motility
- Vasodilation
- Mu1 = low abuse potential
- Mu2 = physical dependence
What are agonists at the mu receptors?
Endorphins
Morphine
Synthetic opioids
Where are opioid kappa receptors located?
Brain: hypothalamus, periaqueductal gray, and claustrum
Spinal Cord: substantia gelatinosa
Peripheral sensory neurons
*high intensity painful stimulation may be resistant to kappa receptor effects (as compared to mu)
What are the actions of opioid kappa receptors?
- Analgesia
- Anticonvulsant effects
- Dissociative and delirium
- Diuresis
- Dysphoria
- Miosis
- Sedation
- Reduces shivering
*low abuse potential
What are agonists at the kappa receptor?
Dynorphins
Where are opioid delta receptors located?
Brain: pontine nuclei, amygdala, olfactory bulbs, cortex
*NO spinal cord or peripheral sensory
What are the actions of opioid delta receptors?
- Analgesia
- Antidepressant effects
- Convulsant effects
- Physical dependence
- Respiratory depression
What are agonists at the delta receptor?
Enkephalins
What are the general side effects of opioids?
- Sedation (precursor to respiratory depression)
- Respiratory depression (usually prevented by intense pain)
- N/V (treat with antiemetics)
- Decreased GI motility (leads to constipation)
- Euphoria
- Anti-tussive (codeine)
- Miosis (pupillary constriction)
- Pruritis
- Biliary spams (mostly morphine - cautious use in gallbladder surgeries)
- Myoclonus/Seizure (high dose)
- Chest wall rigidity (high doses, given quickly IV)
What are the cardiovascular effects of opioids?
- Orthostatic hypotension
- Bradycardia due to increased activity of vagal nerves (may directly stimulate SA node as well - decreased vulnerability to VF)
- Peripheral vasodilation due to histamine release
- Protect myocardium from ischemia (kappa receptors mostly – enhance resistance to oxidative stress)
What is the onset, duration, and T1/2 of Morphine?
Onset = 15-30 min Duration = ~4-6 hours T1/2 = 2-3 hours
- Only 23% unionized so only a small amount gets into CNS
- Minimal cross to BBB due to poor lipid solubility, highly ionized at pH 7.4, high protein binding, and quick glucuronidation
What are the effects of morphine?
- Analgesia
- Euphoria
- Sedation
- Diminished ability to concentrate
- Nausea
- Feeling of body warmth
- Heaviness of extremities
- Mouth dryness
- Pruritus (especially nose) (mu receptor effect – not histamine related)
- Influences the motivation-effective aspect of pain
- Biliary spasm (increases phasic wave frequency of sphincter of Oddi)
How does morphine produce analgesia?
Classic Mu opioid receptor agonist
- Brain (Central) – mu1 – periaqueductal gray, locus coeruleus, medullary nuclei
- Sends descending inhibitory signals
- Spinal Level – mu2
- presynaptic inhibition of primary afferents (decrease in substance P)
- postsynaptic hyperpolarization of interneurons (substantia gelatinosa) – decreases afferent transmission of nociception
Central and spinal synergy
How does gender affect morphine?
Morphine exhibits greater analgesic potency and slower speed of offset in women than men
*higher post-op opioid consumption in men compared to women
What are the respiratory effects of morphine?
- Causes respiratory depression (onset of resp depression parallels onset of analgesia)
- Shifts the CO2 response curve to the right to resting PaCO2 and to apnea (protects pt from receiving too much morphine)
- Slower RR and normal tidal volume
- Decreased ventilatory response to hypoxia/hypoxemia
*hypercarbia will enhance CNS effect (decreases ionization)