Definition of naltrexone in English:
naltrexone
noun nalˈtrɛksəʊnnalˈtreksōn
mass nounMedicine A synthetic drug, similar to morphine, which blocks opiate receptors in the nervous system and is used chiefly in the treatment of heroin addiction.
Example sentencesExamples
- Long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain or heroin dependence is a contraindication for naltrexone because the drug could precipitate severe withdrawal syndrome.
- It is working on a version containing naltrexone, an opiate antagonist that would block oxycodone's euphoric effects once the pill was crushed.
- Small studies have suggested that the opiate antagonist naltrexone is effective as an adjuvant therapy for treating alcohol addiction.
- The use of the opiate antagonist, naltrexone in the treatment of autism is reasonable since it antagonizes endogenous opiate receptor activity.
- Thus, the researchers proposed the hypothesis that alcohol releases endogenous opioids and that naltrexone blocks the opioid receptor.
- In addition, this research group also determined that naloxone, an opiate antagonist similar to naltrexone, prevented the action of both marijuana and heroin on dopamine transmission.
Origin
1970s: from a contraction of N-al(lylnoroxymorph)one (see naloxone), with the insertion of the arbitrary element -trex-.