REVERSAL BY NALOXONE OF ADAPTATION OF RATS TO NOXIOUS STIMULI

Bradykinin, a potent pain-producing substance, injected into the common iliac artery of the rat produced flexor reflexes of the hind-limb. The bradykinin-induced response was reduced following the repetition of such noxious stimuli in some male Sprague-Dawley rats classified as the noxious-adaptable group, while the reduction of bradykinin-response did not occur in the majority of the same strain rats in the noxious-non-adaptable group. Naloxone in doses of 0.1 - 2.0 mg/kg restored the flexor reflexes to the noxious stimulation, in a dose dependent manner, in the former group; ED5 0 value being 0.61 mg/kg. On the other hand, naloxone in doses up to 5.0 mg/kg produced no hyperalgesic effect in the latter group. Thus, genetic variation in endogenous opioid systems has to be considered. © 1979.