| First Author | Bachmutsky I | Year | 2020 |
| Journal | Elife | Volume | 9 |
| PubMed ID | 32073401 | Mgi Jnum | J:290995 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6443510 | Doi | 10.7554/eLife.52694 |
| Citation | Bachmutsky I, et al. (2020) Opioids depress breathing through two small brainstem sites. Elife 9:e52694 |
| abstractText | The rates of opioid overdose in the United States quadrupled between 1999 and 2017, reaching a staggering 130 deaths per day. This health epidemic demands innovative solutions that require uncovering the key brain areas and cell types mediating the cause of overdose- opioid-induced respiratory depression. Here, we identify two primary changes to murine breathing after administering opioids. These changes implicate the brainstem's breathing circuitry which we confirm by locally eliminating the micro-Opioid receptor. We find the critical brain site is the preBotzinger Complex, where the breathing rhythm originates, and use genetic tools to reveal that just 70-140 neurons in this region are responsible for its sensitivity to opioids. Future characterization of these neurons may lead to novel therapies that prevent respiratory depression while sparing analgesia. |
