Probing acute opioid effects in bipolar disorder.
Published: 2005
Language: eng
Number of pages: 121
Description: Bipolar disorder and opioid use disorders are highly co-morbid. Evidence from past opioid agonist challenge studies conducted in unipolar and bipolar depressed subjects suggest transient global improvements in depressive symptoms. It was hypothesized that persons experiencing bipolar depression would exhibit altered responses to acute opioid exposure, experiencing greater changes in mood compared to control subjects. Fifteen bipolar (8 euthymic, 7 depressed), and 10 control subjects participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, cross-over study. Subjective and physiological effects of hydromorphone 6 mg orally were assessed over 6 hours. Results demonstrated that bipolar I depressed subjects reported improved mood associated with hydromorphone. Adverse effects of hydromorphone negatively correlated with depression severity. These findings support the hypothesis that individuals experiencing bipolar depression may exhibit an altered response to acute hydromorphone exposure and suggest that this altered response is likely related to the state of depression rather than to the vulnerability for bipolar disorder.
Notes: Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-02, page: 0830.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Toronto, 2005.

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