Gabapentin enhances the analgesic response to morphine in acute model of pain in male rats

Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2006 Sep;85(1):185-9. doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2006.07.037. Epub 2006 Sep 18.

Abstract

Whenever opioids as drug of choice result in inadequate analgesia, the combinational therapy would be the solution. In this study the co-administration of gabapentin with morphine is evaluated in acute model of pain. Therefore the antinociceptive effect of gabapentin (30 or 90 mg/kg, s.c.) and morphine (0.5, 1 or 3 mg/kg, s.c.) alone or in combination were measured by tail-flick test in intact adult male rats. Control rats received normal saline. Tail-flick latency time and Area Under Curve (AUC), as antinociception index were calculated for each groups. There was not any significant difference between the antinociceptive response of 0.5 mg/kg morphine and 30 mg/kg gabapentin as compared to controls, but co-administration of these subanalgesic doses increased significantly AUC as compared to morphine alone. The co-administration of gabapentin with analgesic doses of 1 and 3 mg/kg morphine had also increased significantly AUC. Therefore gabapentin enhanced the antinociceptive effect of both analgesic and subanalgesic doses of morphine in a dose dependent manner. In conclusion co-administration of gabapentin with low doses of morphine produced therapeutic analgesia which could have important clinical application.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amines / therapeutic use*
  • Analgesics, Opioid / therapeutic use*
  • Animals
  • Area Under Curve
  • Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids / therapeutic use*
  • Disease Models, Animal*
  • Drug Synergism
  • Gabapentin
  • Male
  • Morphine / therapeutic use*
  • Pain / drug therapy*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar
  • gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / therapeutic use*

Substances

  • Amines
  • Analgesics, Opioid
  • Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids
  • gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
  • Gabapentin
  • Morphine