The misuse of an addiction to opioid medications has become the most rapidly increasing drug problem in the US, which has consequences for pregnant mothers and their babies. The prevalence of maternal opioid drug use at the time of delivery in California is approximately one percent. The neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a constellation of narcotic drug withdrawal symptoms that develops in 42 to 94 percent of infants born to narcotic dependent mothers. There are no preventative treatments for this severe syndrome, which can result in a prolonged hospitalization and treatment in a neonatal intensive care unit. Based upon a genetic discovery, we demonstrated that administration of a 5-HT3 antagonist (ondansetron) prevented the symptoms of narcotic drug withdrawal in experimental studies in mice and in humans. From this, we hypothesize that ondansetron administration to pregnant narcotic-using mothers just prior to delivery, followed by a 3-day period of ondansetron administration to the neonate, could reduce the incidence or severity of NAS symptoms. Ondansetron is a broadly utilized drug with a substantial safety record in pregnant women, but we do not know what effect pregnancy may have on ondansetron pharmacokinetics and it is hard to predict ondansetron pharmacokinetics at birth. Therefore, we will first perform a detailed characterization of ondansetron pharmacokinetics in pregnant mothers and in neonates. Besides providing important information about differences in drug metabolism during pregnancy and in neonates, these results will ensure that appropriate ondansetron doses are selected for treatment of the mothers and neonates in the subsequent efficacy study. In the second part of this study, we will conduct a multi-center, randomized, double blind, and placebo-controlled trial to determine whether ondansetron treatment will reduce the incidence (percentage of infants requiring narcotic drug treatment) or severity (total amount of narcotic drug required, length of hospitalization, symptom severity scores) of NAS in babies born to narcotic-using mothers. This project tests a very novel approach for preventing an important pregnancy-related complication of narcotic drug abuse. If a brief period of ondansetron administration to the mothers that use narcotic drugs, and to their babies, can prevent or ameliorate the development of narcotic drug withdrawal symptoms in neonates, this would reduce human suffering and the growing societal cost of opiate abuse.

Public Health Relevance

This project tests a very novel approach for preventing an important pregnancy-related complication of narcotic drug abuse. After characterizing the ondansetron metabolism in pregnant women and neonates, we will determine if prenatal administration of ondansetron to pregnant mothers that use narcotic drugs followed by a 3-day period of ondansetron administration to the neonate, can prevent or reduce the development of narcotic drug withdrawal symptoms in neonates. If so, this would reduce human suffering and the growing societal cost of opiate abuse.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD070795-03
Application #
8692979
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-EMNR-R (55))
Program Officer
Ren, Zhaoxia
Project Start
2012-07-20
Project End
2017-05-31
Budget Start
2014-06-01
Budget End
2015-05-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$803,084
Indirect Cost
$213,422
Name
Stanford University
Department
Anesthesiology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
009214214
City
Stanford
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94305
Peltz, Gary (2018) A Flawed Design Produces Flawed Results. J Addict Med 12:252
Erlendson, Matthew J; D'Arcy, Nicole; Encisco, Ellen M et al. (2017) Palonosetron and hydroxyzine pre-treatment reduces the objective signs of experimentally-induced acute opioid withdrawal in humans: a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 43:78-86
Xu, Dan; Peltz, Gary (2016) Can Humanized Mice Predict Drug ""Behavior"" in Humans? Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol 56:323-38
Peltz, Gary; Anand, Kanwaljeet J S (2015) Long-Acting Opioids for Treating Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: A High Price for a Short Stay? JAMA 314:2023-4
Elkomy, M H; Sultan, P; Carvalho, B et al. (2015) Ondansetron pharmacokinetics in pregnant women and neonates: towards a new treatment for neonatal abstinence syndrome. Clin Pharmacol Ther 97:167-76
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