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Comment on: Effects of selective dopamine D3 receptor partial agonist/antagonists on oxycodone self-administration and antinociception in monkeys

Neuropsychopharmacology volume 48, pages 1703–1704 (2023)Cite this article

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Opioid addiction is a pervasive public health crisis in the United States (US) that requires innovative solutions. More than 90 Americans die from an opioid overdose every day, and many patients who seek treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) are not able to receive it due to lack of access to health insurance, difficulties in navigating the health care system, stigma, and racial bias. Despite the prevalence of OUD, only three FDA-approved medications are available in the US to treat this disorder: naltrexone, methadone, and buprenorphine. All of these medications for OUD (MOUDs) target opioid receptors and although all of them are effective in treating OUD, each is associated with certain disadvantages (e.g., respiratory depression, diversion for illicit use, need for opioid detoxification prior to induction). One of the goals of the National Institute on Drug Abuse is to develop new MOUDs in order to provide more accessibility for treatment which will potentially reduce mortality among those who struggle with OUD.

Woodlief and colleagues [1] conducted several preclinical studies to evaluate MOUDs that target non-opioid receptors. Specifically, their research focused on the dopamine D3 receptor (D3R). Previous studies targeting the D3R with an antagonist showed that morphine tolerance and dependence were reduced without affecting morphine-induced analgesia, suggesting that this approach may preserve the analgesic effects of opioids and allow for the use of lower doses of opioids and hence fewer side-effects in the treatment of pain and potentially a lower risk of developing OUD [2].

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References

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Funding

Funding

The effort spent writing this article was supported by UH3DA047711 (Principal Investigator: SDC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division on Substance Use Disorders, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA

    Samantha Chong & Sandra D. Comer

  2. Columbia University Irving Medical Center Department of Psychiatry, New York, NY, USA

    Sandra D. Comer

Authors
  1. Samantha Chong
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  2. Sandra D. Comer
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Contributions

SC wrote the first draft of the article and SDC helped with revisions of it. Concept and design: SDC. Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: Not applicable. Drafting of manuscript: SC, SDC. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors. Statistical analysis: Not applicable. Administrative, technical, or material support: Not applicable. Supervision: SDC.

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Correspondence to Sandra D. Comer.

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Chong, S., Comer, S.D. Comment on: Effects of selective dopamine D3 receptor partial agonist/antagonists on oxycodone self-administration and antinociception in monkeys. Neuropsychopharmacol. 48, 1703–1704 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-023-01726-w

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