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Heritability of Opioid Effects: A Twin Study

M

Martin Angst

Status

Completed

Conditions

Pain

Treatments

Drug: Alfentanil
Other: Saline placebo infusion

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other
Industry

Identifiers

NCT00672438
SU-04212008-1119
13018 (Other Identifier)

Details and patient eligibility

About

Proposed twin study will test to what degree inter-individual differences in pain sensitivity and amount of pain relief in response to opioid therapy are inherited or alternatively, are due to environmental factors. This knowledge is important to guide future studies trying to explain such inter-individual differences. For example, finding that differences are largely due to environmental factors would discourage genomic studies and emphasize epidemiological studies.

Full description

The principal hypothesis to be evaluated is that the degree of analgesia provided by opioids in humans displays substantial familial aggregation, and is, in fact, heritable. These studies will use a classical twin paradigm to determine the role of genetics and the environment in influencing analgesia and a range of other opioid effects.

Specific Aims: (1) Determine the degree to which opioid analgesic responses show familial aggregation and make preliminary estimates of heritability using both a heat and cold pressor pain model, and (2) determine the degree to which non-analgesic opioid responses show familial aggregation and make preliminary estimates of heritability. Side effects such as sedation, nausea, respiratory depression, and pruritus, as well as the positive affective response, a measure of abuse potential, will be monitored. Monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs (125 total pairs) will be tested under controlled pain laboratory conditions for their responses to opioid infusion using the complementary pain models while monitoring side effects and additional psychometric indices of mood, sleep, and abuse potential. The selected models provide unique mechanistic information because they involve different peripheral and/or central pain pathways. DNA samples will be collected for zygosity testing and banked for future studies.

Enrollment

242 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 70 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:Monozygotic or dizygotic twins ages 18-70

Exclusion Criteria:(1) Clinically relevant systemic diseases such as psychiatric, neurological, and dermatological conditions interfering with the collection and interpretation of study data (2) History of addiction (3) Allergy to study medication (4) Chronic intake of medication potentially interfering with pain processing (except oral contraceptives) (5) Intake of over-the-counter analgesics within the two days prior to study (6) Reynaud's disease (7) Pregnancy (8) Participation in other study within last 30 days (9) Personnel with direct access to addicting drugs

Trial design

242 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

Saline placebo infusion
Placebo Comparator group
Description:
Subjects will receive an intravenous infusion of normal saline.
Treatment:
Other: Saline placebo infusion
Alfentanil infusion
Experimental group
Description:
Subjects will receive an intravenous infusion of alfentanil.
Treatment:
Drug: Alfentanil

Trial contacts and locations

1

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Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov

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