Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
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Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. · Sep 2005
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialThe 5-hydroxytryptamine 4 receptor agonist mosapride does not antagonize morphine-induced respiratory depression.
On the basis of experiments in rats, serotonin 4 receptor (5-hydroxytryptamine 4 [5-HT4]) agonists have been proposed as a novel therapeutic strategy for the selective treatment of respiratory depression caused by opioids while leaving analgesic effects unaffected. The effects in rats have been seen with the 5-hydroxytryptamine 4a (5-HT4a) agonist BIMU8, which is currently not available for use in humans. ⋯ Our results show that, with mosapride, opioid-induced respiratory depression cannot be prevented, and because other 5-HT4 agonists are not currently available for clinical use, a cure for opioid-induced respiratory depression as promised by the previous successful experiments in laboratory animals is not yet available in clinical practice.