Xenon gas as a potential treatment for opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and related disorders

Marc J. Kaufman, Edward G. Meloni

McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, USA

Abstract

Xenon gas is considered to be a safe anesthetic and imaging agent. Research on its other potentially beneficial effects suggests that xenon may have broad efficacy for treating health disorders. A number of reviews on xenon applications have been published, but none have focused on substance use disorders. Accordingly, we review xenon effects and targets relevant to the treatment of substance use disorders, with a focus on opioid use disorder and alcohol use disorder. We report that xenon inhaled at subsedative concentrations inhibits conditioned memory reconsolidation and opioid withdrawal symptoms. We review work by others reporting on the antidepressant, anxiolytic, and analgesic properties of xenon, which could diminish negative affective states and pain. We discuss research supporting the possibility that xenon could prevent analgesic- or stress-induced opioid tolerance and, by so doing could reduce the risk of developing opioid use disorder. The rapid kinetics, favorable safety and side effect profiles, and multitargeting capability of xenon suggest that it could be used as an ambulatory on-demand treatment to rapidly attenuate maladaptive memory, physical and affective withdrawal symptoms, and pain drivers of substance use disorders when they occur. Xenon may also have human immunodeficiency virus and oncology applications because its effects relevant to substance use disorders could be exploited to target human immunodeficiency virus reservoirs, human immunodeficiency virus protein-induced abnormalities, and cancers. Although xenon is expensive, low concentrations exert beneficial effects, and gas separation, recovery, and recycling advancements will lower xenon costs, increasing the economic feasibility of its therapeutic use. More research is needed to better understand the remarkable repertoire of effects of xenon and its potential therapeutic applications.

摘要：氙气被认为是一种安全的麻醉剂和显像剂。对其其他潜在有益作用的研究表明，氙可能在治疗健康疾病方面具有广泛的功效。已经发表了一些关于氙应用的评论，但没有一个关注物质使用障碍。因此，我们回顾了与物质使用障碍治疗相关的氙气效应和靶点，重点是阿片类药物使用障碍和酒精使用障碍。我们报道，以镇静浓度吸入氙气可抑制条件记忆再巩固和阿片类戒断症状。我们回顾了其他报道氙的抗抑郁、抗焦虑和镇痛特性的工作，这些特性可以减少消极的情感状态和疼痛。我们讨论了支持氙可以预防镇痛或应激诱导的阿片类药物耐受性的可能性的研究，这样做可以降低发生阿片类药物使用障碍的风险。氙的快速动力学、良好的安全性和副作用特征以及多靶向能力表明，它可以作为一种按需门诊治疗方法，在发生药物使用障碍时迅速减轻适应性记忆不良、身体和情感戒断症状以及疼痛驱动因素。氙也可能具有人类免疫缺陷病毒和肿瘤学应用，因为其与物质使用障碍相关的效应可以被利用来靶向人类免疫缺陷病毒库、人类免疫缺陷病毒蛋白诱导的异常和癌症。虽然氙是昂贵的，但低浓度发挥了有益的作用，气体分离、回收和循环利用的进步将降低氙的成本，增加其治疗用途的经济可行性。需要更多的研究来更好地了解氙的显著作用及其潜在的治疗应用。