WHAT'S NEW IN OPIOIDS: NEW THOUGHTS, NEW DRUGS, NEW DELIVER!SYSTEMS

摘要

Opioids are frequently used for pain control in veterinary medicine and are the mainstay of analgesic therapy in the perioperative period. Opioids are frequently given pre-operatively to provide both sedation and excellent "pre-emptive" analgesia. Post-operatively, opioids are highly effective analgesics for moderate to severe pain. Opioids act by binding to specific opioid receptors in the CNS (mu, kappa, delta) mimicking the effects of the endogenous opioids (endorphins, enkephalins, dynorphins). These receptors vary in their pharmacological effects (although all three produce analgesia) and their distribution throughout the body. Although opioids are grouped together according to their binding properties, their behavioral and physiological effects may be qualitatively quite different.