Low-Dose Morphine Can Help Patients With Lung Disease to Sleep Better

New trial is seeking people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to take part in a two-week study assessing the effects of a low-dose morphine daily pill for its effect on breathlessness.

COPD is diagnosed in about 1 in 20 Australians aged 45 and over. The rate rises significantly among people aged over 75 years and is the fifth leading cause of death in Australia.

‘New study results may soon show various useful effects of morphine on sleep in COPD patients. These results may help to develop better treatments for breathlessness.’
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“COPD causes breathlessness during the day, but we often forget that it also causes major problems with sleep, due to coughing, lighter sleep and sometimes accompanying insomnia or sleep apnea,” says Dr. Altree.

“In order to reduce breathlessness, doctors often prescribe low-dose morphine to people with COPD. It can be very effective, but we really don’t fully understand how the drug actually improves breathing.

One way we think it works is by improving sleep quality, which has flow-on effects for breathlessness the next day.”

Results of the Study

This study follows the work done at Flinders University by Prof. David Currow, a world expert on breathlessness, whose research led to morphine being licensed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia for chronic breathlessness in 2019.

Slow-release Oral Morphine Can Help Treat Opioid Abuse Effectively
Slow-release oral Morphine (SROM) is an alternative treatment for opioid dependence. But, more research is required to include it into the U.S. treatment guidelines.

Dr. Altree says that the results of this study will have important implications for the way doctors treat COPD in the future.

“For the first time ever, this study will show the specific effects that morphine has on sleep in COPD. If we are to develop better treatments for breathlessness in the future, we need to answer these key questions about sleep and breathing in COPD.”

Source-Medindia