Dipyrone potentiates morphine-induced antinociception in dipyrone-treated and morphine-tolerant rats

Coadministration of morphine and dipyrone produces acute and chronic antinociceptive potentiation in drug-naive rats. In this work, the effectiveness of the combination was determined in rats pretreated with morphine or dipyrone. Nine groups of male rats received (i.v.) 3.1 mg/kg morphine, 600 mg/kg dipyrone, or the morphine-dipyrone combination twice a day for five administrations (three groups per treatment). From the 6th to the 10th administration, one group out of each treatment continued without change, while the other two were switched to one of the other two possible treatments. In morphine-tolerant rats, morphine plus dipyrone produced a transient antinociceptive potentiation. In dipyrone-treated animals, this combination produced a long-lasting potentiation. In animals only treated with the combination, antinociception was clear since the beginning, although it decreased after the 6th injection. No cross-tolerance was seen between morphine and dipyrone. These data suggest that dipyrone potentiates morphine-induced antinociception in dipyrone-treated as well as in morphine-tolerant rats. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.