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Aim. The aim of the study was to review the existing research, conducted on animal and human models, regarding the possibility of using low doses of naltrexone (LDN) in treatment of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Method. The available Polish- and English-language literature on NSSI was reviewed. Relevant studies were identified through an electronic search of PubMed/MEDLINE and Google Scholar databases using the following keywords: non-suicidal self-injury, NSSI, naltrexone, LDN, self-injury, self-harm, and time descriptors 1982-2022. The review was based on information reported in original papers, review articles and case reports. The quality of the article was assessed using the six-point Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles (SANRA). Results. Studies conducted on animal models show that use of LDN can prevent habitual self-injury. As far as the possibility of clinical use of LDN in treatment of NSSI is concerned, results of a relatively small number of studies conducted so far confirm the efficacy of using naltrexone 25-50 mg/day to decrease or eliminate self-injurious behaviors in NSSI patients. Conclusions. The use of LDN in treatment of NSSI seems to be a promising clinical option, whose efficacy, however, needs to be corroborated in a larger number of randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hedonic hunger occurs in response to a desire to consume food for pleasure. The μ-opioid system regulates the hedonic impact of food and the opioid receptor mu 1 gene (OPRM1) polymorphism has been associated with fat intake.Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether the intake of high-fat food is associated with hedonic hunger and the OPRM1 polymorphism and whether these variables are related to BMI.Methods: Participants were 20- to 40-y-old women and men enrolled in Poznań, Poland in 2016-2018. The frequency of consumption of high-fat food was measured using a validated application for mobile devices. Hedonic hunger was assessed with the use of the Power of Food Scale (PFS). PFS1, PFS2, and PFS3 scores were generated for food available, food present, and food tasted, respectively. Genotyping of rs1799971 in the OPRM1 gene was performed using TaqMan probes. The associations were analyzed using linear regression or logistic regression, as appropriate.Results: Hedonic hunger scores were not associated with total high-fat food intake. Total PFS was associated with snack intake (β: 0.16, P = 0.0066). PFS1 was positively associated with healthy high-fat food intake (β: 0.27, P = 0.0001) and PFS2 with sweet high-fat food and fast-food intake (β: 0.27, P = 0.0030). OPRM1 genotype and hedonic hunger interacted on fast-food intake (β: -0.17; P < 0.0154). Total PFS and PFS2 increased the chance of having a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 (OR: 1.43; 95% CI: 1.03, 2.01; P = 0.0335 and OR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.37, 2.61; P = 0.0001, respectively), whereas PFS3 decreased it (OR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.41, 0.87; P = 0.0082).Conclusions: Hedonic hunger is associated with the intake of selected types of high-fat food, but not with its total intake, in people aged 20-40 y. Associations between hedonic hunger and fast-food intake can be modified by OPRM1 genotype. Hedonic hunger is associated with BMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Tapentadol is the first drug of the new type of centrally acting analgesics MOR-NRI. It is a μ-receptor (MOR) agonist and noradrenaline- reuptake inhibitor. It was first licenced in 2008, since 2011 in Poland, but become available (as a retard form) as late as 2016. Case report. This paper will discuss properties and advantages of this opioid and point out the patients who would benefit most from its use. A few cases where tapentadol therapy was highly effective will also be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Predisposition to addictions is presumably related to a dysfunction of the brain reward system, which can be ‘compensated’ by the intake of different psychoactive drugs. Hence, animals showing propensity for developing dependence to a specific drug class may also be useful for modeling other addictions. We compared the effects of repeated (14 daily doses) morphine (10mg/kg) or methadone (2mg/kg) treatment followed by a 2-week withdrawal and a morphine challenge (5mg/kg) on locomotor activity, brain Fos expression and selected brain regional levels of dopamine, serotonin and their metabolites in the 38th generations of selectively bred Warsaw low-alcohol-preferring (WLP) and Warsaw high-alcohol-preferring (WHP) rat lines. The rats were given the opioids during the active (i.e. dark) phase of their daily cycle. Drug-naïve WHP rats compared to their WLP counterparts showed higher locomotor activity in an open field test and higher propensity for lasting behavioral sensitization to morphine. Morphine did not significantly enhance, but suppressed Fos expression in certain brain regions of drug-naïve WLP and WHP rats. Fos expression revealed considerable differences in the responses of WLP and WHP rats to morphine challenge, particularly after methadone pretreatment. These differences were associated with differences in monoamine metabolite levels that were suggestive of elevated basal ganglia and lowered frontal cortical dopamine function, and of lowered somatosensory cortex serotonin function, in the morphine-challenged WHP rats (irrespective of the pretreatment type). Hence, the WLP/WHP line pair may be useful for the search of factors that underlie the propensity for developing opiate dependence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]