Abstract
The current studies were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of β-adrenergic antagonists on opiate withdrawal symptoms utilizing a variety of paradigms. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were made moderately dependent on morphine with daily incremental injections. Both the nonselective β-antagonist propranolol and the selective β1-antagonist atenolol, in the dose range of 5 to 20 mg/kg, were found to significantly reduce many of the somatic responses to either naloxone-precipitated or abstinence-induced withdrawal from morphine. In addition, propranolol (10 mg/kg) significantly reduced a withdrawal-induced conditioned place aversion, while atenolol was effective only at the highest dose tested (20 mg/kg). These data indicate that β-adrenergic antagonists might be effective in the treatment of opiate addictions.
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Harris, G., Aston-Jones, G. Beta-Adrenergic Antagonists Attenuate Somatic and Aversive Signs of Opiate Withdrawal. Neuropsychopharmacol 9, 303–311 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.1993.66
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/npp.1993.66
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