Preferential Delivery of an Opioid Antagonist to the Fetal Brain in Pregnant Mice.

ABSTRACT: Prolonged fetal exposure to opioids results in neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a major medical problem requiring intensive care and increased hospitalization times for newborns with NAS. Multiple strategies are currently available to alleviate withdrawal in infants with NAS. To prevent NAS caused by opioid maintenance programs in pregnant women, blocking fetal dependence without compromising the mother's opiate therapy is desirable. Here we tested in pregnant mice whether a peripherally selective opioid antagonist can preferentially enter the fetal brain and, thereby, in principle, selectively protect the fetus. We show using mass spectrometry that 6β-naltrexol, a neutral opioid antagonist with very limited ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), readily crosses the placental b

SUBMITTER: Oberdick J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4931874 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature