Repeated central administration of selegiline attenuated morphine physical dependence in rat.
BACKGROUND
Long-term exposure to opiates induces physical dependence; however, the neurobiological mechanisms of this phenomenon are not completely clear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of systemic and intracerebroventricular (icv) administration of selegiline (a selective inhibitor of monoamine oxidase B) on the morphine withdrawal syndrome in rats.


METHODS
To this aim, adult male Sprague Dawley rats were selected randomly, and then growing doses of morphine were administered subcutaneously at an interval of 12 h for nine days with the intention of inducing dependency. Nine days after, only the morning dose of morphine was administered, followed by systemic or central injection of saline or selegiline. Later, naloxone was injected after 30 min and withdrawal signs recorded for a period of 60 min.


RESULTS
Results showed failure of systemic administration of selegiline in changing the withdrawal symptoms; nevertheless, icv injection attenuated the withdrawal signs significantly.


CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion we found that central administration of selegiline attenuated morphine withdrawal symptoms.
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Alireza
A
Parvizpour
Mohammad
M
Charkhpour
Bohlool
B
Habibi-asl
Mobin
M
Shakhsi
Majid
M
Ghaderi
Kambiz
K
Hassanzadeh
D000818:Animals; D057967:Infusions, Intraventricular; D008297:Male; D009020:Morphine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D009021:Morphine Dependence / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009270:Naloxone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012642:Selegiline / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*
D012642:Selegiline; D009270:Naloxone; D009020:Morphine