Additive analgesic effect of dexmedetomidine and dezocine administered intrathecally in a mouse pain model

BACKGROUND: It is known that dexmedetomidine can reduce opioid requirements and that there is a synergistic effect when dexmedetomidine and morphine (a full mu opioid receptor agonist) are administered together. However, it was unclear whether a synergistic or additive effect would be observed when dexmedetomidine was co-administered with a partial mu opioid receptor agonist. The present study was designed to elucidate such effects by intrathecally co-administering dexmedetomidine and dezocine, a partial mu receptor agonist, in a mouse pain model. METHODS: C57 mice (N = 165) were randomly divided into 19 groups. The tail flick test was adopted to measure the antinociceptive effects of the tested agents. The mice were divided into saline and drug groups to investigate the dose-dependent analgesic effects. Each drug was administered at fixed doses alone and in combination with one of three doses of a second drug. RESULTS: Dezocine (0.3125 - 1.25 μg) and dexmedetomidine (0.04 - 1 μg) both enhanced the tail withdrawal latency in dose-dependent fashions. Dexmedetomidine (0.04 - 1 μg) enhanced the analgesic effect of dezocine. Dezocine (0.3125 - 1.25 μg) enhanced the analgesic effect of dexmedetomidine. Compared with the individual drug effects, the combined effects of dezocine (0.625 μg) and dexmedetomidine (0.04 μg) were more potent 15 - 60 min after injection, but they remained similar to the sum of the effects of the two individual drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Dexmedetomidine and dezocine produce an additive analgesic effect on acute nociception when administered simultaneously.