TY - JOUR T1 - THE PHARMACOLOGY OF NALORPHINE (N-ALLYLNORMORPHINE) JF - Pharmacological Reviews JO - Pharmacol Rev SP - 175 LP - 198 VL - 8 IS - 2 AU - L. A. WOODS Y1 - 1956/06/01 UR - http://pharmrev.aspetjournals.org/content/8/2/175.abstract N2 - The pharmacological properties of nalorphine which are of greatest theoretical and practical value relate to the antagonism of the effects of morphine and morphine-related narcotics. As a result of studies with nalorphine, it has been possible to obtain new information which adds to our knowledge of the mechanisms of development of tolerance and physical dependence to morphine. Nalorphine has become the drug of choice in treating acute overdosage of morphine and related analgesics in the human. The use of nalorphine in obstetrics has made possible the use of morphine for its analgesic action without the major undesirable side-effect of fetal respiratory depression. The administration of mixtures of nalorphine and morphine (or related analgesics) for the routine production of analgesia may offer considerable therapeutic possibilities. There seems to be no doubt that such mixtures can be used which still possess very respectable analgesic effects but the reports are controversial (see V, 1) as to whether the nalorphine in these mixtures prevents the undesirable side-effects of the morphine such as sedation, respiratory depression, etc. in the human. Even though there may prove to be no antagonism of the acute untoward side-effects, if the development of tolerance and physical dependence to morphine is inhibited as has been suggested (see V, 5), the use of such mixtures for clinical analgesia would be very definitely advantageous providing a parallel increased sensitivity to the analgesic inhibitory action of nalorphine does not develop as has been shown for rats. ER -