Dezocine Explained

Verifiedfields:changed
Watchedfields:changed
Verifiedrevid:460779162
Iupac Name:(5R,11S,13R)-13-Amino-5-methyl-5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12-octahydro-5,11-methanobenzo[10]annulen-3-ol
Width:200px
Width2:200px
Tradename:Dalgan
Legal Status:Rx-only
Routes Of Administration:Intravenous infusion, intramuscular injection
Metabolism:Hepatic
Elimination Half-Life:2.2 hours
Cas Number:53648-55-8
Atc Prefix:N02
Atc Suffix:AX03
Pubchem:3033053
Drugbank:DB01209
Chemspiderid:2297867
Unii:VHX8K5SV4X
Kegg:D00838
Chebi:4474
Chembl:1685
Synonyms:WY-16225
C:16
H:23
N:1
O:1
Smiles:Oc1ccc2c(c1)[C@@]3(C)CCCCC[C@@H](C2)[C@H]3N
Stdinchi:1S/C16H23NO/c1-16-8-4-2-3-5-12(15(16)17)9-11-6-7-13(18)10-14(11)16/h6-7,10,12,15,18H,2-5,8-9,17H2,1H3/t12-,15-,16+/m0/s1
Stdinchikey:VTMVHDZWSFQSQP-VBNZEHGJSA-N

Dezocine, sold under the brand name Dalgan, is an atypical opioid analgesic which is used in the treatment of pain.[1] [2] It is used by intravenous infusion and intramuscular injection.

Dezocine is an opioid receptor modulator, acting as a partial agonist of the μ- and κ-opioid receptors. It has a similar profile of effects to related opioids acting at the μ-opioid receptor, including analgesia and euphoria.[3] Unlike other opioids acting at the κ-opioid receptor however, dezocine does not produce side effects such as dysphoria or hallucinations at any therapeutically used dose.[4]

Dezocine was first synthesized in 1970.[5] It was introduced for medical use in the United States in 1986 but was not marketed in other countries. Dezocine was discontinued in the United States in 2011 with no official reason given. However, it has become one of the most widely used analgesics in China. In light of the opioid epidemic, dezocine has seen a resurgence in use and interest.

Medical uses

Dezocine is generally administered intravenously (as Dalgan) to relieve post-operative pain in patients. It can also be administered in intramuscular doses, and is given once rather than continuously. It is often administered in post-operative laparoscopy patients as an alternative to fentanyl. Dezocine has potent analgesic effects, and comparable or greater pain-relieving ability than morphine, codeine, and pethidine (meperidine).[6] It is a more effective analgesic than pentazocine, but causes relatively more respiratory depression than pentazocine.[7] Dezocine is a useful drug for the treatment of pain, but side effects such as dizziness limit its clinical application,[8] and it can produce opioid withdrawal syndrome in patients already dependent on other opioids.[9] Because of its high efficacy, dezocine is often administered at a base dose of 0.1 mg/kg. Respiratory depression, a side effect of dezocine, reaches a ceiling at 0.3 to 0.4 mg/kg.

Side effects

Side effects at lower doses include mild gastrointestinal discomfort and dizziness. Because decozine has mixed agonist/antagonist effects at the opioid receptors, it has a lowered dependence potential than purely agonistic opioids. It can be prescribed, therefore, in small doses over an extended period of time without causing patients to develop and sustain an addiction. Its efficacy as an analgesic is dose-dependent; however, it displays a ceiling effect in induced respiratory depression at 0.3 to 0.4 mg/kg.

Pharmacology

Pharmacodynamics

Opioid activity of dezocine and morphine[10]
OpioidOpioid receptor affinity (Ki, nM)
Dezocine3.67 ± 0.731.9 ± 1.9527 ± 70
Morphine2.8 ± 0.255.96 ± 6.99648.8 ± 59.7

Dezocine acts as an opioid receptor receptor modulator. It is specifically a mixed agonist–antagonist or partial agonist of the μ- and κ-opioid receptors.[11] [12] [13] Dezocine could also act as a biased agonist of the μ-opioid receptor, although more research is needed to confirm this. The binding affinity of dezocine varies depending on the opioid receptor, with it having the highest affinity for the μ-opioid receptor, intermediate affinity for the κ-opioid receptor, and the lowest affinity for the δ-opioid receptor. In addition to its opioid activity, dezocine has been found to act as a serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), with pIC50 values of 5.86 for the serotonin transporter (SERT) and 5.68 for the norepinephrine transporter (NET).[14] These actions theoretically might contribute to its analgesic efficacy.

Dezocine is five times as potent as pethidine and one-fifth as potent as butorphanol as an analgesic. Due to its partial agonist nature at the μ-opioid receptor, dezocine has significantly reduced side effects relative to opioid analgesics acting as full agonists of the receptor such as morphine. Moreover, dezocine is not a controlled substance and there are no reports of addiction related to its use, indicating that, unlike virtually all other clinically employed μ-opioid receptor agonists (including weak partial agonists like buprenorphine), and for reasons that are not fully clear, it is apparently non-addictive. This unique benefit makes long-term low-dose treatment of chronic pain and/or opioid dependence with dezocine more feasible than with most other opioids. Despite having a stronger respiratory depressant effect than morphine, dezocine shows a ceiling effect on its respiratory depressive action so above a certain dose this effect does not get any more severe.[15]

Pharmacokinetics

Dezocine has an bioavailability by intramuscular injection of 97%.[16] It has a mean t1/2α of fewer than two minutes, and its biological half-life is 2.2 hours.

Chemistry

Dezocine has a structure similar to the benzomorphan group of opioids. Dezocine is unusual among opioids as it is one of the only primary amines known to be active as an opioid (along with bisnortilidine, an active metabolite of tilidine).

Synthesis

Dezocine [(−)-13β-amino-5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12-octahydro-5α-methyl-5,11-methanobenzocyclodecen-31-ol, hydrobromide] is a pale white crystal powder. It has no apparent odor. The salt is soluble at 20 mg/ml, and a 2% solution has a pH of 4.6.[17]

The synthesis of dezocine begins with the condensation of 1-methyl-7-methoxy-2-tetralone with 1,5-dibromopentane through use of NaH or potassium tert-butoxide.[18] This yields 1-(5-bromopentyl)-1-methyl-7-methoxy-2-tetralone, which is then cyclized with NaH to produce 5-methyl-3-methoxy-5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12-octahydro-5,11-methanobenzocyclodecen-13-one. The product is then treated with hydroxylamine hydrochloride, to yield an oxime. A reduction reaction in hydrogen gas produces an isomeric mixture, from which the final product is crystallized and cleaved with HBr.

History

Dezocine was patented by American Home Products Corp. in 1978. Clinical trials ran from 1979 to 1985, before its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1986. As of 2011,[19] dezocine's usage is discontinued in the United States, but it is still widely used in some other countries such as China.[20]

Society and culture

Generic names

Dezocine is the generic name of the drug and its and .[21] [22] [23] [24]

Brand names

The major brand name of dezocine is Dalgan.

Availability

In 2000, dezocine was listed as being marketed only in the United States. It has since been marketed in China. Dezocine was discontinued in the United States in 2011.

Legal status

As of 2011, dezocine is not used in the United States or Canada. It is not commercially available in either of these countries,[19] nor is it offered as a prescribed analgesic for postoperative care. In China however, it is commonly used after surgery.[25]

Notes and References

  1. O'Brien JJ, Benfield P . Dezocine. A preliminary review of its pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties, and therapeutic efficacy . Drugs . 38 . 2 . 226–48 . August 1989 . 2670517 . 10.2165/00003495-198938020-00005 . 195697572 .
  2. Childers WE, Abou-Gharbia MA . "I'll Be Back": The Resurrection of Dezocine . ACS Med Chem Lett . 12 . 6 . 961–968 . June 2021 . 34141081 . 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.1c00233 . 8201756 .
  3. Zacny JP, Lichtor JL, de Wit H . Subjective, behavioral, and physiologic responses to intravenous dezocine in healthy volunteers . Anesthesia and Analgesia . 74 . 4 . 523–30 . April 1992 . 1348168 . 10.1213/00000539-199204000-00010 . 34394471 . free .
  4. Westmoreland C . August 1991 . Opioid agonist-antagonists . Current Opinion in Anesthesiology . 4 . 4 . 556–562 . 10.1097/00001503-199108000-00017 .
  5. Web site: Espacenet. Espacenet Patent Search.
  6. Camu F, Gepts E . Analgesic properties of dezocine for relief of postoperative pain . Acta Anaesthesiologica Belgica . 30 . Suppl . 183–91 . 1979 . 398127 .
  7. Wuest HP, Bellville JW . The respiratory effects of dezocine and pentazocine in man . Journal of Clinical Pharmacology . 19 . 4 . 205–10 . April 1979 . 438355 . 10.1002/j.1552-4604.1979.tb01653.x . 45928473 .
  8. Oosterlinck W, Verbaeys A . Preliminary clinical experience with dezocine, a new potent analgesic . Current Medical Research and Opinion . 6 . 7 . 472–4 . 1980 . 7363647 . 10.1185/03007998009109470 .
  9. Strain EC, Preston KL, Liebson IA, Bigelow GE . Opioid antagonist effects of dezocine in opioid-dependent humans . Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics . 60 . 2 . 206–17 . August 1996 . 8823239 . 10.1016/S0009-9236(96)90137-X . 10183991 .
  10. Liu R, Huang XP, Yeliseev A, Xi J, Roth BL. Bryan Roth . Novel molecular targets of dezocine and their clinical implications . Anesthesiology . 120 . 3 . 714–23 . March 2014 . 24263237 . 3944410 . 10.1097/ALN.0000000000000076 .
  11. Wang YH, Chai JR, Xu XJ, Ye RF, Zan GY, Liu GY, Long JD, Ma Y, Huang X, Xiao ZC, Dong H, Wang YJ . Pharmacological Characterization of Dezocine, a Potent Analgesic Acting as a κ Partial Agonist and μ Partial Agonist . Sci Rep . 8 . 1 . 14087 . September 2018 . 30237513 . 6148296 . 10.1038/s41598-018-32568-y . 2018NatSR...814087W .
  12. Gharagozlou P, Hashemi E, DeLorey TM, Clark JD, Lameh J . Pharmacological profiles of opioid ligands at kappa opioid receptors . BMC Pharmacology . 6 . 3 . January 2006 . 16433932 . 1403760 . 10.1186/1471-2210-6-3 . free .
  13. Young AM, Stephens KR, Hein DW, Woods JH . Reinforcing and discriminative stimulus properties of mixed agonist-antagonist opioids . The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics . 229 . 1 . 118–26 . April 1984 . 6142942 .
  14. Wang YX, Mao XF, Li TF, Gong N, Zhang MZ . Dezocine exhibits antihypersensitivity activities in neuropathy through spinal μ-opioid receptor activation and norepinephrine reuptake inhibition . Scientific Reports . 7 . 43137 . February 2017 . 28230181 . 5322378 . 10.1038/srep43137 . 2017NatSR...743137W .
  15. Romagnoli A, Keats AS . Ceiling respiratory depression by dezocine . Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics . 35 . 3 . 367–73 . March 1984 . 6421529 . 10.1038/clpt.1984.45 . 19569628 .
  16. Locniskar A, Greenblatt DJ, Zinny MA . Pharmacokinetics of dezocine, a new analgesic: effect of dose and route of administration . European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology . 30 . 1 . 121–3 . 1986 . 3709625 . 10.1007/bf00614208 . 20426334 .
  17. Malis JL, Rosenthale ME, Gluckman MI . Animal pharmacology of Wy-16,225, a new analgesic agent . The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics . 194 . 3 . 488–98 . September 1975 . 808600 .
  18. Freed ME, Potoski JR, Freed EH, Conklin GL, Malis JL . Bridged aminotetralins as novel potent analgesic sunstances . Journal of Medicinal Chemistry . 16 . 6 . 595–9 . June 1973 . 4714986 . 10.1021/jm00264a003 .
  19. Web site: FDA Drugs. 2012-11-01. https://archive.today/20130127212955/http://fdadrugs.legalview.com/legal-issue/dalgan. 2013-01-27. dead.
  20. Wang L, Liu X, Wang J, Sun Y, Zhang G, Liang L . Comparison of the efficacy and safety between dezocine injection and morphine injection for persistence of pain in Chinese cancer patients: a meta-analysis . Bioscience Reports . 37 . 3 . June 2017 . 28533424 . 5463259 . 10.1042/BSR20170243 .
  21. Book: Elks J . The Dictionary of Drugs: Chemical Data: Chemical Data, Structures and Bibliographies. 14 November 2014. Springer. 978-1-4757-2085-3. 368–.
  22. Book: Morton IK, Hall JM . 2012 . Concise Dictionary of Pharmacological Agents: Properties and Synonyms . Springer Science & Business Media . 96 . 9789401144391 .
  23. Book: Kar A . 2005 . Medicinal Chemistry . New Age International . 268 . 9788122415650 .
  24. Book: Swiss Pharmaceutical Society . Swiss Pharmaceutical Society . 2000 . Index Nominum 2000: International Drug Directory . Taylor & Francis . 320 . 9783887630751 .
  25. Gharagozlou P, Demirci H, David Clark J, Lameh J . Activity of opioid ligands in cells expressing cloned mu opioid receptors . BMC Pharmacology . 3 . 1 . January 2003 . 12513698 . 140036 . 10.1186/1471-2210-3-1 . free .