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Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol 398, Issue 1 377-387, Copyright © 1982 by New York Academy of Sciences

ARTICLES

Endorphin levels in opioid-dependent human subjects: a longitudinal study

C. P. O'Brien, L. Terenius, A. Wahlstrom, A. T. McLellan and W. Krivoy

Endorphin levels were measured in 51 cerebrospinal fluid samples from 27 opioid-dependent or postdependent subjects. Radioreceptor assay showed the endorphin levels to be higher than those found in normal subjects. These high levels were found even while subjects were on methadone maintenance. The duration of opioid dependence was positively correlated with fraction I values. Both fractions tended to be lower during early withdrawal than late withdrawal. In naltrexone-maintained patients, radioreceptor assay showed FII to be greatly elevated, but electrophoresis and HPLC indicated that the elevations were not due to a peptide. Thus, the possibility of unextracted naltrexone metabolites remains at least a partial explanation for this apparent FII elevation.