Anti-nociceptive effects of oxytocin receptor modulation in healthy volunteers-A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial paper looks at Oxytocin.

Hypothalamic oxytocinergic neurons project to the spinal dorsal horn, where they activate GABA-ergic inhibitory interneurons.

The present study tested whether the long-acting oxytocin-analogue carbetocin has anti-nociceptive effects in multi-modal experimental pain in humans.

Who Took Part

PubMed tags the participants as both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Oxytocin and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Blinding on both sides kept the participants and researchers unaware of who received Oxytocin.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Oxytocin could be set against what happens without it.

Each person switched between Oxytocin and the comparison at some point, usually with a gap in between.

Multi-modal quantitative sensory testing (QST) including a model of capsaicin-induced hyperalgesia and allodynia were performed at baseline and at 10, 60 and 120 min after drug administration.

QST data were analysed using mixed linear and logistic regression models.

Carbetocin plasma concentrations and oxytocin receptor genotypes were quantified and assessed in an exploratory fashion.

What Was Measured

The present study tested whether the long-acting oxytocin-analogue carbetocin has anti-nociceptive effects in multi-modal experimental pain in humans.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Healthy Volunteers, Oxytocics, Postpartum Hemorrhage and Receptors, Oxytocin.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Oxytocin.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 4 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2021 (European journal of pain (London, England)), a journal based in England.

More context: the Oxytocin compound page, all human trials.