Morphine‐6‐glucuronide (M6G) for postoperative pain relief |
| |
Authors: | Albert Dahan Eveline van Dorp Terry Smith Ashraf Yassen |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Department of Anesthesiology, Leiden University Medical Center, P5‐Q, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands;2. CeNeS Ltd., Cambridge CB24 9ZR, UK |
| |
Abstract: | Morphine‐6‐glucuronide (M6G) is morphine's active metabolite acting at the μ‐opioid receptor. Recent experimental human studies and 5 of 6 randomized clinical trials indicate that M6G causes adequate and long lasting pain relief comparable to morphine. There are various observations that M6G is associated with a reduction in the severity of side effects normally associated with opioid use, such as reduced postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and reduced respiratory depression. The present drug profile provides a review of the pharmacological properties of M6G, the clinical evidence relating to its efficacy and safety, and discusses its future role in the treatment of postoperative pain. |
| |
Keywords: | Pain Opioid Morphine Endogenous morphine‐6‐glucuronide PCA Respiratory depression Metabolism PK/PD modeling Blood‐brain barrier |
|
|