Comparison of ventilatory depression by carfentanil, fentanyl, and heroin, and reversal by opioid receptor antagonists in rats.

ABSTRACT: Fentanyl and its analogs continue to drive the overdose crisis in the United States. It is unclear whether there are unique properties of fentanyls that increase the risk of opioid overdose compared with other opioid receptor agonists (e.g., heroin). This study compared the ventilatory depressant effects of the opioid receptor agonists heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanil, and reversal of those effects by opioid receptor antagonists. This study used whole-body plethysmography in rats to determine the ventilatory depressant effects of heroin (178-1780 μg/kg), fentanyl (5.6-56 μg/kg), and carfentanil (0.56-5.6 μg/kg) when administered alone and in mixtures, to compare the profile of effects across drugs and determine whether there are significant interactions between the drugs when co-administe

SUBMITTER: Flynn SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12517225 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature