New Study Examines Potential of Oxytocin as Pain Management Adjunctive, Addiction Treatment

A group of researchers from the University of Florida are conducting a study evaluating whether a synthetic version of oxytocin—a hormone naturally produced in the hypothalamus—can be used as an adjunct to prescription medications to address opioid addiction in older adults.¹

Oxytocin produces positive feelings in the body and is widely known as the “love hormone” or “cuddle hormone” and plays an important role in human behaviors including trust, romantic attachment, sexual arousal, and parent-infant bonding.² It is also crucial to the childbirth process: two synthetic versions of oxytocin (Syntocinon, Pitocin) can be used to induce labor or strengthen contractions. Additionally, research results have shown a link between low levels of oxytocin and depression, including postpartum depression.³

In the current study, researchers will be evaluating whether oxytocin can be used not only to reduce feelings of pain, but to also simultaneously decrease the desire for opioid use. “The idea is that physicians could potentially prescribe, in combination, an opioid and oxytocin as an acute pain management option, while at the same time lessening the likelihood of developing an addiction to opioids,” said lead researcher Meredith Berry, PhD. Berry is an assistant professor in the University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance’s Department of Health Education and Behavior.¹

The 2-year double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study will evaluate a cohort of 30 adult participants aged 55 to 85 years with a history of some opioid use. Participants will administer synthetic oxytocin or placebo via nasal spray shortly after receiving oral oxycodone. Outcome measures include cardiovascular, respiratory, cognitive, and affective responses to the treatment, as well as patient-reported responses. Investigators will collect pain measures by inducing acute mechanical and thermal pain.

READ MORE: Investigational Acute Pain Therapy to be Evaluated in Pivotal Phase 3 Trial

The is supported by over $414,000 in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health and is expected to be completed in April 2025.

This study is not the first evaluating the role of oxytocin in the pain management space. In 2023, a systematic review published in Neuroscience and Behavioral Reviews⁴ reviewed the outcomes of 17 randomized, placebo-controlled trials that evaluated oxytocin as a treatment for various substance use disorders, including alcohol, opioids, cannabis, nicotine, and cocaine and/or other stimulants. Although oxytocin demonstrated “some promising therapeutic effects,” including reduced symptoms of withdrawal after opioid cessation, “sounder methodological and well-powered trials are needed” to draw stronger conclusions.

Identifying innovative and non-addictive treatments to manage pain is a public health priority. In 2017, the US Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency⁵; that declaration has been renewed as recently as March 27, 2024, by Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services “as a result of the continued consequences of the opioid crisis affecting our nation.”⁶

Earlier this year, provisional data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics⁷ counted an estimated 107,543 drug overdose deaths in 2023—the first annual decrease in deaths since 2018, and a 3% decrease from 2022. Although deaths due to cocaine and psychostimulants such as methamphetamine increased, deaths due to opioid overdoses decreased, including those due to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.

READ MORE: Pain Management Resource Center

References

1. Katz A. “Cuddle hormone” oxytocin may provide pain relief and help curb harmful opioid use. University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance. Accessed September 11, 2024. https://hhp.ufl.edu/articles/2024/berry-oxytocin-as-opioid-alternative.html

2. Oxytocin. Cleveland Clinic. Reviewed March 27, 2022. Accessed September 11, 2024. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22618-oxytocin

3. LeWine HE. Oxytocin: the love hormone. Harvard Health Publishing. June 13, 2023. Accessed September 11, 2024. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/oxytocin-the-love-hormone

4. Mellentin AI, Finn SW, Skøt L, et al. The effectiveness of oxytocin for treating substance use disorders: a systematic review of randomized placebo-controlled trials. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2023;151:105185. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105185.

5. Ongoing emergencies and disasters. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Updated September 9, 2024. Accessed September 11, 2024. https://www.cms.gov/about-cms/what-we-do/emergency-response/current-emergencies/ongoing-emergencies

6. Renewal of determination that a public health emergency exists. Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. March 25, 2024. Accessed September 11, 2024. https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/Opioid-25Mar2024.aspx

7. US overdose deaths decrease in 2023, first time since 2018. News release. CDC. May 15, 2024. Accessed September 11, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2024/20240515.htm