Sex hormones can be after higher opioid deaths among men

Can sex hormones explain the difference in the use of opioids and misuse between sex?

Since 1999, the American Opioid Epidemic has killed more than half a million people, and according to the National Institute of Health, three -quarters of these victims were men.

A new study from the School of Medicine at the University of Washington in St. Louis suggests that the reason for gender inequality can be biological.

The research team found that male mice with chronic pain in their paws gave themselves increasing doses of Fentanil over time, while female mice with the same chronic pain kept their intake constant.

Researchers believe that change in behavior is about sex hormones. They found that when male rats were given the hormone estrogen, they maintained a steady obtaining opioid rate.

“These data suggests that men may be predisposed to abuse opioids in the context of pain due to their sex hormone balance,” said lead author Jessica Higginbotham, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in Jose Moron-Conception, PhD.

Published on March 10 in Neuron magazine, these findings find that hormones play a key role in the way men and women respond, use and abuse opioids.

By better understanding the relationships between hormones and chronic pain, experts hope they can detect new approaches and possible solutions to the growing opioid crisis.

Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans between 18 and 45.

In 2023, Dea captured a record of 386 million deadly doses of Fentanil throughout the US enough to kill every American.

A record number of high school adolescents across the US were killed by Fentanil in 2022, mainly by fentanyl poisoning by forged pills.

Experts note that people in mass misuse opioids to relieve pain. Although men are statistically less likely to suffer from chronic pain, they are more likely to overdose opioids than women.

The research team claims that something other than – or except – chronic pain puts men at a higher risk for substance abuse disorder.

“Men and women have the same sex hormones, only in different quantities, and our data suggest that women have a more protective balance than men. But if that balance changes, the risk of developing opioid use disorder can also change, “said Higginbotham.

Fentanil acts in the brain in two ways; Blocks the transmission of pain signals and releases dopamine from the center of brain reward, causing an euphoric feeling.

Researchers measured the response of the pain of the lab mice by measuring how quickly they attracted their paws when touched. They found no difference between the amount of pain experienced by male and female mice or how much pain relief a fentanile dose.

Still, throughout the three-week study, male rats returned for more and more Fentanil while females did not.

Researchers discovered a major gender change in the amount of dopamine released after each fentanil dose. Female rats produced the same amount of dopamine regardless of their pain level. In contrast, men in pain created an ever -increasing dopamine response to Fentanil doses.

“We had thought that men may have developed a tolerance to Fentanil and needed increased amounts to relieve pain, but that was not the case,” said Jose Moron-Conception, PhD, Professor Henry Elliot Mallinckrodt of anesthesiology in Washu Medicine and senior paper author.

“Men were getting more and more Fentanil to feel it ever growing high. In men, but not women, the state of pain itself affected the brain reward centers and led them to take more medication. “

Further research showed that sex hormones were directly responsible for the change in dopamine responses.

In women, ovaries are the main producers of sex hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and even small amounts of testosterone.

Researchers found that female rats whose ovaries were removed reacted to Fentanil as men did, with increased dopamine responses and opioid behaviors. In contrast, estrogen -treated male mice exhibited behaviors similar to those of females.

The team notes that these findings can help explain why menopausal women, who suffer a decline in estrogen levels, have higher rates of opioid abuse than their younger counterparts, women.

“What we can do now is to start thinking about how to find the right hormone balance to prevent the disorder of the use of opioids in people with chronic pain,” Moron-Conception said.

“We have not yet seen the role of other sex hormones like testosterone or progesterone. Is there a perfect combination of hormones that can return the effects of the use of opioids? This is something we would like to discover.”

Last month, the House of Representatives adopted a -law to classify fentanil among the most dangerous medicines – opening the door to traffickers facing mandatory minimal penalties for distributing highly dependent and deadly chemicals.

Prohibition of all deadly trafficking of the Fentanil (Halt) act approved by a 312-108 vote, with 98 Democrats joining 214 Republicans to vote “Aye”.

Legislation permanently reclassifies more fentanil as a drug I of program I, means that there is no admitted medical use and a high potential for abuse. The draft law would not affect the status of the II program of the legal fenthan that has the approval of the food administration and medicines for medical use.