Title:Non-Analgesic Effects of Opioids: Mechanisms and Potential Clinical Relevance of Opioid-Induced Immunodepression
Volume: 18
Issue: 37
Author(s): Paola Sacerdote, Silvia Franchi and Alberto E. Panerai
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Cytokines, immunity, immunosuppression, lymphocytes, macrophages, morphine, opioid drugs, opioid receptors, cancer, immunocompromised patients.
Abstract: This review provides an overview of the immunological effects of commonly used analgesic opioid drugs, focusing mainly on
two aspects: the mechanisms involved and the potential clinical relevance.
The immunomodulatory effects of morphine have been characterized in animal and human studies. Morphine decreases the effectiveness
of both natural and acquired immunity, interfering with intracellular pathways involved in immune regulation, both directly and indirectly
via the activation of central receptors. The mechanisms and the targets at the basis of opioid-induced immunomodulation have
started to be elucidated, demonstrating an interaction between opioid receptors and several molecules involved in the complex and well
orchestrated immune response, such as transcription factors and receptors of both myeloid and lymphoid cells.
Due to their widespread and expanding use, the immunological effects of opioid are receiving considerable attention because of concerns
that opioid-induced changes in the immune system may affect the outcome of surgery or of variety of disease processes, including bacterial
and viral infections and cancer.
It is also emerging that not all opioids induce the same immunosuppressive effects and evaluating each opioid profile is important for appropriate
analgesic selection. The impact of the opioid-mediated immune effects could be particularly dangerous in selective vulnerable
populations, such as the elderly or immunocompromised patients. Indeed, it is evident that the possibility of reaching adequate and
equivalent pain control by choosing either immunosuppressive drugs or drugs without an effect on immune responses may be an important
consideration in opioid therapy.
