Endogenous Opioid Response to Injections

Summary

This study will study pain relief after spine injections that are used to guide care. Some improvements in pain from a procedure might be from placebo effect rather than the physiological effect of the procedure. The study will use naloxone to reverse the effect of the body's internal placebo system after a spine injection, so the placebo effect and the injection effect can be measured separately. This process may improve the understanding of spine injections and their ability to guide pain care.

Timeline

Start

2024-08-22

Primary completion

2025-10

Completion

2026-02

Publications

• Background Benedetti F. The opposite effects of the opiate antagonist naloxone and the cholecystokinin antagonist proglumide on placebo analgesia. Pain. 1996 Mar;64(3):535-543. doi: 10.1016/0304-3959(95)00179-4.
• Background Cohen SP, Williams KA, Kurihara C, Nguyen C, Shields C, Kim P, Griffith SR, Larkin TM, Crooks M, Williams N, Morlando B, Strassels SA. Multicenter, randomized, comparative cost-effectiveness study comparing 0, 1, and 2 diagnostic medial branch (facet joint nerve) block treatment paradigms before lumbar facet radiofrequency denervation. Anesthesiology. 2010 Aug;113(2):395-405. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0b013e3181e33ae5.
• Background Cohen SP, Stojanovic MP, Crooks M, Kim P, Schmidt RK, Shields CH, Croll S, Hurley RW. Lumbar zygapophysial (facet) joint radiofrequency denervation success as a function of pain relief during diagnostic medial branch blocks: a multicenter analysis. Spine J. 2008 May-Jun;8(3):498-504. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2007.04.022. Epub 2007 Jun 18.
• Background Manchukonda R, Manchikanti KN, Cash KA, Pampati V, Manchikanti L. Facet joint pain in chronic spinal pain: an evaluation of prevalence and false-positive rate of diagnostic blocks. J Spinal Disord Tech. 2007 Oct;20(7):539-45. doi: 10.1097/BSD.0b013e3180577812.
• Background Cohen SP, Doshi TL, Constantinescu OC, Zhao Z, Kurihara C, Larkin TM, Griffith SR, Jacobs MB, Kroski WJ, Dawson TC, Fowler IM, White RL, Verdun AJ, Jamison DE, Anderson-White M, Shank SE, Pasquina PF. Effectiveness of Lumbar Facet Joint Blocks and Predictive Value before Radiofrequency Denervation: The Facet Treatment Study (FACTS), a Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial. Anesthesiology. 2018 Sep;129(3):517-535. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000002274.
• Background Boswell MV, Manchikanti L, Kaye AD, Bakshi S, Gharibo CG, Gupta S, Jha SS, Nampiaparampil DE, Simopoulos TT, Hirsch JA. A Best-Evidence Systematic Appraisal of the Diagnostic Accuracy and Utility of Facet (Zygapophysial) Joint Injections in Chronic Spinal Pain. Pain Physician. 2015 Jul-Aug;18(4):E497-533.
• Background Kaptchuk TJ, Goldman P, Stone DA, Stason WB. Do medical devices have enhanced placebo effects? J Clin Epidemiol. 2000 Aug;53(8):786-92. doi: 10.1016/s0895-4356(00)00206-7.
• Background Finniss D, Nicholas M, Brooker C, Cousins M, Benedetti F. Magnitude, response, and psychological determinants of placebo effects in chronic low-back pain: a randomised, double-blinded, controlled trial. Pain Rep. 2019 Jun 7;4(3):e744. doi: 10.1097/PR9.0000000000000744. eCollection 2019 May-Jun.
• Background Zubieta JK, Bueller JA, Jackson LR, Scott DJ, Xu Y, Koeppe RA, Nichols TE, Stohler CS. Placebo effects mediated by endogenous opioid activity on mu-opioid receptors. J Neurosci. 2005 Aug 24;25(34):7754-62. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0439-05.2005.
• Background Bagley EE, Ingram SL. Endogenous opioid peptides in the descending pain modulatory circuit. Neuropharmacology. 2020 Aug 15;173:108131. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108131. Epub 2020 May 15.
• Background Petrovic P, Pleger B, Seymour B, Kloppel S, De Martino B, Critchley H, Dolan RJ. Blocking central opiate function modulates hedonic impact and anterior cingulate response to rewards and losses. J Neurosci. 2008 Oct 15;28(42):10509-16. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2807-08.2008.
• Background Colloca L. Placebo effects in pain. Int Rev Neurobiol. 2020;153:167-185. doi: 10.1016/bs.irn.2020.04.001. Epub 2020 Jun 9.
• Background Bruehl S, Burns JW, Morgan A, Koltyn K, Gupta R, Buvanendran A, Edwards D, Chont M, Kingsley PJ, Marnett L, Stone A, Patel S. The association between endogenous opioid function and morphine responsiveness: a moderating role for endocannabinoids. Pain. 2019 Mar;160(3):676-687. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001447.
• Background Bruehl S, Burns JW, Koltyn K, Gupta R, Buvanendran A, Edwards D, Chont M, Wu YH, Qu'd D, Stone A. Are endogenous opioid mechanisms involved in the effects of aerobic exercise training on chronic low back pain? A randomized controlled trial. Pain. 2020 Dec;161(12):2887-2897. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001969.
• Background Wager TD, Scott DJ, Zubieta JK. Placebo effects on human mu-opioid activity during pain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Jun 26;104(26):11056-61. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0702413104. Epub 2007 Jun 19.
• Background Wartolowska KA, Gerry S, Feakins BG, Collins GS, Cook J, Judge A, Carr AJ. A meta-analysis of temporal changes of response in the placebo arm of surgical randomized controlled trials: an update. Trials. 2017 Jul 12;18(1):323. doi: 10.1186/s13063-017-2070-9.
• Background Kaplan M, Dreyfuss P, Halbrook B, Bogduk N. The ability of lumbar medial branch blocks to anesthetize the zygapophysial joint. A physiologic challenge. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1998 Sep 1;23(17):1847-52. doi: 10.1097/00007632-199809010-00008.
• Background Dreyfuss P, Halbrook B, Pauza K, Joshi A, McLarty J, Bogduk N. Efficacy and validity of radiofrequency neurotomy for chronic lumbar zygapophysial joint pain. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2000 May 15;25(10):1270-7. doi: 10.1097/00007632-200005150-00012.
• Background Dreyfuss P, Schwarzer AC, Lau P, Bogduk N. Specificity of lumbar medial branch and L5 dorsal ramus blocks. A computed tomography study. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1997 Apr 15;22(8):895-902. doi: 10.1097/00007632-199704150-00013.
• Background McCormick ZL, Marshall B, Walker J, McCarthy R, Walega DR. Long-Term Function, Pain and Medication Use Outcomes of Radiofrequency Ablation for Lumbar Facet Syndrome. Int J Anesth Anesth. 2015;2(2):028. doi: 10.23937/2377-4630/2/2/1028.
• Background MacVicar J, Borowczyk JM, MacVicar AM, Loughnan BM, Bogduk N. Lumbar medial branch radiofrequency neurotomy in New Zealand. Pain Med. 2013 May;14(5):639-45. doi: 10.1111/pme.12000. Epub 2012 Dec 28.

Drugs

Indications