Understanding and Countering Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression

Featured Topic — Wednesday, April 28, 2021 — 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM — Virtual Session, Room APS-12
Respiration Section — Chair: Erica Levitt — Co-Chair: Gaspard Montandon

Every day 130 Americans die from opioid overdose, totaling over 40,000 deaths per year. A large driver of the opioid crisis is the exponential increase in overdoses caused by fentanyl. The cause of death from opioid overdose is respiratory failure, yet the mechanisms of opioid-induced respiratory depression are poorly understood. This Featured Topic symposium will provide an update on progress toward understanding the mechanisms underlying opioid-induced respiratory depression, and address experimental approaches to counter overdose. Erica Levitt will introduce the topic and provide an update on cellular and circuit level mechanisms in the Kölliker-Fuse and parabrachial complex leading to respiratory dysfunction by opioids. Additional abstracts will be selected that discuss opioid actions or countering mechanisms in the brain, spinal cord and/or periphery.

Speakers

• Introductions
  Gaspard Montandon — Division of Respirology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto
  2:00 PM - 2:02 PM


• Pontine Mechanisms of Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression
  Erica Levitt — Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, University of Florida
  2:02 PM - 2:15 PM


• Abstract 1 - Inspiratory and Phase-Spanning Dorsolateral Pontine Neurons Are Silent During Fentanyl-Induced Apnea
  Sandy Saunders — Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Florida
  2:15 PM - 2:30 PM


• Abstract 2 - Rhythmogenic States of the Respiratory Network Reveal Differential Opioid Sensitivity
  Nicholas J. Burgraff — Seattle Children's Research Institute
  2:30 PM - 2:45 PM


• Abstract 3 - Investigating Opioid-induced Respiratory Depression and Analgesia Using Larval Zebrafish
  Shenhab Zaig — Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science, St. Michael's Hospital
  2:45 PM - 3:00 PM


• Abstract 4 - The Ability of Fentanyls and Other Opioids to Increase EMG Amplitude in Respiratory Muscles Correlates with their Agonist Efficacy
  Damiana Cavallo — University of Bristol
  3:00 PM - 3:15 PM


• Abstract 5 -Intranasal Leptin Prevents Opioid-induced Deaths in Mice
  Carla Freire — Johns Hopkins University
  3:15 PM - 3:30 PM