Ph.D Scholarship Programme "Heraclitus II"

The reduction in analgetic efficacy of opioids towards pain relieve is due  to the development of both pharmacological resistance and hyperalgesia. The lack of detailed knowledge of the cellular mechanisms responsible for the hyperalgesic effect has not permitted the effective management of hyperalgesia in clinical practice. According to our recent study on the rat hippocampal formation, the acute in vivo treatment with the opioid fentanyl resulted, 24h later, in the induction of adaptive changes, such as the reduction in both GABA-mediated transmission and GABA immunoreactivity. The purpose of the current project serves as a sequence of the existing knowledge and is designed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the above mentioned reduction of the GABAergic transmission with the following specific aims:  i) alterations in GABA biosynthesis,  ii) possible intracellular biochemical changes (PKA, PKC, NOS)  iii) possible interaction between μ- and  NMDA receptos, iv) its functional and v) morphological consequences of fentanyl exposure in hippocampal neurons.


 

Παραδοτέα έργου δημοσίως προσβάσιμα: 

Ph.D Thesis (in Greek)