Talk:Dipropanoylmorphine

Removed section on opiate/opioid experiment

"Clinical experiments on animals (Rats and Monkeys) have consistently shown that morphines reinforcing effects on the subject animals were far greater than with hydromorphone, oxymorphone, fentanyl, pethidine, oxycodone, methadone, and hydrocodone. Only dia-morphine (Heroin) rivaled the reinforcing effects of morphine. In the study, the rats were not able to distinguish the difference between the heroin and the morphine, but they clearly were able to distinguish morphine from all the other narcotics being given to them, and they consistently chose to go to the morphine. Only one rat in the study showed a preference to hydromorphone over the morphine and the heroin."

"The monkeys were more intelligent and at the start of the study, they were given only hydrocodone and oxycodone. Out of the eight monkeys, five preferred reinforcing themselves with oxycodone, while the other three chose the hydrocodone. Next, the hydrocodone was taken out of the fray and replaced by the pethidine. The three monkeys that preferred the hydrocodone also preferred the pethidine and three out of the five that had taken to the oxycodone switched off to the pethidine side. Little skirmishes began to start as the pethidine was being used by six out of the eight monkeys, and the other two remained with the oxycodone."

"Approximately three hours later, the oxycodone was taken out of the fray to be replaced by methadone. All eight monkeys preferred the pethidine and fighting between them over the supply of the pethidine intensified. Immediately thereafter, the methadone was taken out and replaced by hydromorphone. Seven out of the eight monkeys switched over to the hydromorphone and one remained on the pethidine."

"The experiment went on for several days, and next, the pethidine was taken out and replaced by morphine. Two of the monkeys went to the side with the morphine, the other six monkeys stood at the side where the hydromorphone was. Slowly, but surely, all eight monkeys made their way to the morphine side and completely abandoned the hydromorphone. Pleasure causing stimuli were attached to the hydromorphone side to see whether the monkeys would respond or not, but that was a failure. The monkeys showed a strong preference for the morphine, despite attempts to try to lure them to the hydromorphone side with pleasure causing stimuli, food, and water."

"In the next part of the study, hydromorphone was replaced with oxymorphone. The results here were the same as they were for the hydromorphone test. All eight monkeys preferred the morphine. The researchers then decided to limit the amount of morphine and increase the amount of oxymorphone to see if it would lead the monkeys to go to the oxymorphone since the morphine supply was limited. It didn't work. Intense fighting occurred between several of the monkeys over the supply of the morphine. Not one of the monkeys went to the oxymorphone side. Next, the oxymorphone was taken out and replaced by the fentanyl. Two of the monkeys investigated the fentanyl for approximately 8 minutes, but did not use it. The other six monkeys remained on the morphine and did not even seem to notice that there was another drug dropped down into the fray. Eventually, the two monkeys that were investigating the fentanyl left it behind and went back to the morphine."

"After a two day wait, diamorphine (heroin) was thrown in the fray against morphine. Immediately the eight monkeys split into two groups of four. One group took to the heroin and the other group took to the morphine. The monkeys showed no preference for one over the other, suggesting that morphine and heroin are more liable to abuse. Equipotent doses of these drugs had quite comparable action time courses when administered intravenously, and on this basis there was no difference in their ability to produce feelings of "euphoria," ambition, nervousness, relaxation, drowsiness, or sleepiness."

Though unrelated to the article at hand, maybe an 'effects and relationship to the addictive qualities of opiates' type article or some such may find this of use. It is notable in terms of observation that this experiment did not seem to consider the difference in morphine & heroin with an IV MoA, in accord to the following removed part:

"...the 'two' drugs (chemically, heroin is a morphine pro-drug, basically making them one drug and a single agent. Using a variety of subjective and objective measures, the relative potency of heroin to morphine administered intravenously to post-addicts found 1.80 mg of morphine sulfate equals to 1 mg of diamorphine hydrochloride (heroin). The pharmacology and chemical structure of heroin and morphine are identical except the 'heroin' molecule has two acetyl groups which work only to increase the lipid solubility of the morphine molecule, and as a result the morphine enters the brain by crossing the blood brain barrier more rapidly.)" Nagelfar (talk) 10:18, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Dipropanoylmorphine metabolizes into heroin?

I have read that dipropanoylmorphine gets metabolized into heroin in the body. If a source could be found for that, it should be pertinent to the article I would think. Nagelfar (talk) 05:52, 5 November 2008 (UTC)

No, it metabolises into morphine.Meodipt (talk) 10:32, 5 November 2008 (UTC)

Now that I have a better understanding of the di-esters of morphine, one could say it metabolizes into the same active constituent as heroin does: which you are right is morphine. Nagelfar (talk) 04:14, 10 July 2010 (UTC)