The role of opioid receptors in diabetes and hyperglycemia-induced changes in pain threshold in the rat

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Abstract
The role of opioid receptors in diabetes and hyperglycemia-induced analgesia was studied in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals maintained under controlled environmental conditions were used in all studies. Pain latency was determined by the hot plate test (55° C) and analgesy-meter force method. The results of these studies indicate that streptozotocin-induced diabetic animals have a significantly higher pain threshold (PP<0.01) than control animals, with a peak occurring at the beginning of the dark phase (2000 hours), and a trough at the begining of the light phase (0800 hours). The administration of the opioid antagonist naloxone (2 mg/kg) reversed the hyperglycemia and diabetic-induced analgesia. The results of these studies might indicate that analgesia found in diabetic or hyperglycemic animals may be related to the endogenous opioid system.