Patients Needing High-Dose Opioids May Have Genetic Defects Defective activity levels require extra meds for pain control

Chronic pain patients who require high-dose opioids seem to have genetic anomalies that impact their ability to metabolize drugs, researchers reported here. In a small survey, 91% of patients taking opioids in excess of 100 morphine milligram equivalent (MME) per day had defects in cytochrome P450 enzymes, which are involved in drug metabolism, reported Forest Tennant, MD, DrPH, of Veract Intractable Pain Clinic in West Covina, Calif., in a poster at Pain Week. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/PainWeek/60155?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2016-09-12&eun=g721819d0r&pos=2