Effect of cholinergic drugs on acute and chronic morphine dependence
Padmanabha Pillai, N.; Ramaswamy, S.; Gopalakrishnan, V.; Ghosh, M.N.
Archives Internationales de Pharmacodynamie et de Therapie 257(1): 146-154
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-9780 PMID: 7202346 Document Number: 189566
The effect of both centrally and peripherally acting cholinergic drugs on acute and chronic morphine dependence was investigated. The quaternary ammonium drugs, neostigmine and atropine methyl bromide which cross the blood-brain barrier with difficulty, significantly altered the withdrawal jumping and wet shakes in a similar manner to that exhibited by centrally acting tertiary drugs, i.e., physostigmine and atropine sulfate. The cholinergic agonists inhibited the withdrawal signs while the antagonists enhanced the same. The peripheral cholinergic mechanisms may be involved apart from the central mechanisms in the phenomena of acute and chronic morphine dependence.