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Investigation of the antinociceptive activity of buprenorphine in sheep
Author(s) -
Nolan A.,
Livingston A.,
Waterman A.E.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
british journal of pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.432
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1476-5381
pISSN - 0007-1188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1987.tb11353.x
Subject(s) - nociception , buprenorphine , radioimmunoassay , pharmacology , tail flick test , drug , chemistry , analgesic , medicine , anesthesia , receptor , opioid
1 Buprenorphine given intravenously (6 μg kg −1 ) was examined for its antinociceptive activity in unrestrained sheep using devices to measure thermal and mechanical thresholds 2 The plasma levels of buprenorphine following intravenous injection over the time period of the antinociceptive testing were measured using a radioimmunoassay. 3 Buprenorphine produced a clear antinociceptive effect lasting for up to three and a half hours when measured by the thermal threshold test, but no detectable antinociception in the mechanical test. 4 The plasma levels of buprenorphine indicated that the drug was rapidly distributed in a manner not dissimilar to that reported in man, although individual animals showed a wide variation in some parameters. 5 When plasma levels of the drug were high (< 700 pg ml −1 ) during the first sixty minutes, no antinociceptive activity in the thermal test could be detected, which may be due to the slow receptor kinetics shown by this drug.