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Spinal Kappa Opioid Receptor Activity Inhibits Adenylyl Cyclase-1 Dependent Mechanisms Of Chronic Postoperative Pain, Lilian Custodio
Spinal Kappa Opioid Receptor Activity Inhibits Adenylyl Cyclase-1 Dependent Mechanisms Of Chronic Postoperative Pain, Lilian Custodio
Theses and Dissertations--Physiology
Chronic postoperative pain impacts millions of individuals worldwide that undergo a variety of surgical procedures. Opioids remain the mainstay analgesics of acute and perioperative pain; however, prolonged opioid therapy may lead to life-threating adverse effects, tolerance, dependence, and addiction. Therefore, unraveling the cellular mechanisms that drive persistent pain states and opposing endogenous analgesia provided by opioid receptor signaling, may lead to novel analgesics. Evidence suggests that tissue injury leads to increased sensitization of the spinal cord nociceptive neurons which increases susceptibility to chronic pain via an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation of calcium-sensitive adenylyl cyclase isoform 1 (AC1). This phenomenon, named …