title: A controlled trial of naloxone infusions for the pruritus of chronic cholestasis.
abstract: To test the hypothesis that opioid agonist activity contributes to the pruritus of cholestasis, a placebo-controlled single-blinded trial of naloxone, an opioid antagonist, was conducted in eight patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. After discontinuation of all conventional antipruritic medications, one or two continuous (24-hour) IV infusions of naloxone (0.2 micrograms.kg-1.min-1) and placebo solution were administered consecutively in an order that was not predetermined. Pruritus was assessed subjectively by means of four hourly recordings of a visual analogue score. In addition, objective measurements of scratching activity that were independent of gross body movements were continuously recorded using an apparatus specifically designed to measure the frequencies associated with this activity. No side effects associated with naloxone infusions were observed. Only scratching activity data obtained for the same periods of day and night during both naloxone and placebo infusions were compared. Naloxone infusions were consistently associated with a decrease in values of the scratching activity index. In addition, in 50% of the patients the infusions were associated with a decrease in visual analogue score. The mean decrease in scratching activity ranged from 29% to 96% (mean, 50%; P less than 0.001). These findings imply that increased opioid agonist activity contributes to scratching activity in cholestatic patients.
authors.affiliation: Liver Diseases Section, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: N V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Bergasa
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Talbot
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Alling
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schmitt
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Korenman
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Hoofnagle
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008105:Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary / Q000150:complications*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009270:Naloxone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011537:Pruritus / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D016037:Single-Blind Method
chemical_list: D009270:Naloxone