As the use of opioid analgesics continues to increase in Norway, we asked: what makes these drugs so addictive? Tremendous resources have been dedicated to charting how people feel after taking a drug, sidestepping the influence of how people feel before they take the drug. In the ERC funded project OPIOIDREWARD, we have turned that approach on its head.
The results from this basic science project are helping to resolve hotly debated scientific questions on drug reward and addiction. In addition to the main scientific outcomes from the project, we have generated tools and findings of high relevance to science and society:
1. Research tools:
1.1. The project has generated much-needed insights into dose determination of opioid antagonist drugs, which are used clinically and in research to block the brain’s own opioid receptors. These insights have been implemented as open web applications for use by clinicians and researchers in addition to the scientific publication of the findings.
1.2. We have established novel implementations of a stress induction task, and have made all relevant materials and procedures available to other researchers via an openly available web resource.
2. Clinical findings:
2.1. In parallel to the basic science project, we have measured effects of opioid analgesics as they are currently used in Norwegian hospitals. Our results indicate that some opioids can actually reduce patients’ well-being, contrary to common belief. We presented these findings to a broad range of Norwegian physicians and nurses in clinical and scientific meetings and conferences.
Research is hampered by a lack of accessible tools; detailed methods information is often difficult to find or recreate due to insufficient documentation. By making the tools we have created for OPIOIDREWARD openly accessible, we can greatly reduce the amount of time that researchers spend searching for, recreating and adapting existing tools for their projects. This represents a key advance to improve reproducibility in stress and opioid drug research.
Every time a surgical patient receives opioids, their risk of problematic opioid use is increased. By systematically sharing our tools and findings and by targeting practicing physicians and nurses, we can help optimize research on and treatment with opioids in Norway. Knowledge from OPIOIDREWARD can facilitate correct use of drugs and doses in research and hospitals, greatly reducing cost and risk of side effects and addiction.
As the use of opioid analgesics continues to increase in Norway, we ask: what makes these drugs so addictive? Tremendous resources have been dedicated to charting how people feel after taking a drug, sidestepping the influence of how people feel before they take the drug. In the ERC funded project OPIOIDREWARD, we have turned that approach on its head.
The results from this basic science project are helping to resolve hotly debated scientific questions on drug reward and addiction. In addition to the expected outcomes from the project, we have generated tools and insights of high relevance to science and society:
1. Research tools:
1.1. The project has generated key insights into dose determination of opioid antagonist drugs used in clinically and in research to block the brain’s own opioid receptors. These insights will be implemented as open web applications for use by clinicians and researchers.
1.2. To achieve the aims of OPIOIDREWARD, we have established two novel implementations of a stress induction task. We will create an online toolbox to share the specifications of each implementation for use in research.
2. Norwegian clinical findings:
2.1. In parallel to the basic science project, we measure effects of opioid analgesics as they are currently used in Norwegian hospitals. Our results indicate that some opioids can actually reduce patients’ well-being, contrary to common belief. Broad dissemination of the results will help optimise current treatment of surgical patients in Norway.
Supplementary funding is sought to prepare materials and disseminate these tools and data to researchers and clinicians in Norway via:
i) informational websites;
ii) web applications;
iii) presentations at national meetings for e.g. nursing and anaestesia;
iv) public outreach writing;
v) press releases to national media;
vi) reproducible research tutorials on research tool sharing for Norwegian researchers; and
vii) a topical workshop for interested Norwegian researchers.
