title: Intrathecal co-administration of morphine and nimodipine produces higher antinociceptive effect by synergistic interaction as evident by injecting different doses of each drug in rats.
abstract: Earlier, we reported that morphine-nimodipine combination produces significantly higher antinociception after intrathecal but not after systemic administration in mice. Different doses of morphine and nimodipine (5 microg of morphine, 5 microg of nimodipine, 5 microg each of morphine and nimodipine, 10 microg of morphine, 10 microg of nimodipine, 10 microg morphine with 5 microg nimodipine and 5 microg of morphine with 10 microg of nimodipine) were now injected intrathecally in Wistar rats to further characterise this antinociceptive effect. The acute antinociceptive effect was measured by the tail-flick test between 15 min to 7 h. The onset of maximum antinociception (100% MPE) was earlier (by 15 min) in nimodipine (5 microg) than in morphine (5 microg) treated group (by 30 min). Though earlier in onset, 5 microg nimodipine produced transient antinociception, which was significantly higher than saline treated controls for the initial 30 min only. Morphine (5 microg) produced significantly higher antinociception between 15 min to 3:30 h in comparison to control animals. However, co-administration of both morphine and nimodipine led to significantly higher antinociception than morphine alone at 4:00 h and also between 5:00 to 6:30 h. Interestingly, the combined antinociceptive action of morphine and nimodipine was not significantly different from 10 microg of morphine, which indicated synergistic interaction. Naloxone (5 mg/kg) could reverse this antinociceptive effect of morphine-nimodipine combination though it failed to reverse nimodipine (5 microg)-mediated antinociception at 15 min. Increasing the dose of either morphine or nimodipine to 10 mug did not increase antinociception except between 6:30-7:00 h. No obvious side effect was noted after administration of either morphine or nimodipine or both.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110 029, India.
authors.forename: Himanshu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Dilip
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Verma
authors.forename: Rajesh K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Ahuja
authors.forename: Deep N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.forename: Shashi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wadhwa
authors.forename: Subrata Basu
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Ray
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004333:Drug Administration Routes; D004357:Drug Synergism; D007278:Injections, Spinal; D008297:Male; D009020:Morphine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009270:Naloxone; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D009553:Nimodipine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu / Q000187:drug effects; D013623:Tail
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu; D009270:Naloxone; D009553:Nimodipine; D009020:Morphine