COGNITIVE EFFECTS OF OPIOIDS IN OLDER ADULTS

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Persistent pain, sufficient to cause significant impairment in daily functioning affects up to 50 percent of older adults. To date, no studies have examined or characterized neurocognitive effects of opioids in older adults. The proposed study will measure the objective and subjective neurocognitive effects of immediate release oxycodone in healthy older (>65 years) adults. We will also characterize the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics at a specified dose level. Because older adults may evidence a different pattern of response to opioid medication than younger adults, we will also measure objective and subjective neurocognitive effects and pharmacokinetics of oxycodone in a healthy middle age (35-55 years) sample. We will examine aging effects by comparing neurocognitive function of the middle aged and older adults groups using a randomized, double-blind, cross-over design. This project represents a novel area of inquiry because to date there have been no rigorously controlled studies of the neurocognitive effects of opioids in older adults. The present study conducted in healthy, pain-naive older adults will permit an unambiguous assessment of the neurocognitive effects of an oral opioid, without the complications of pain and other disease variables. Specifically, this feasibility study will attempt to demonstrate that older adults are more vulnerable to the neurocognitive impairment of a tolerable initial dose of oxycodone.