Trial reportPsychopharmacology2016
A randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial of the delta opioid receptor agonist AZD2327 in anxious depression.
Trial report in Psychopharmacology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed.
- Longitudinal study of impact of medication for opioid use disorder on Hamilton Depression Rating Scale.Journal of affective disorders · 2022Trial
- Positive allosteric modulation of the delta opioid receptor attenuates depression-like and pain-like behaviors but does not promote convulsions.The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2026Article
- Identification of Subtype-Selective Binding Sites in the Opioid Receptor Family.Journal of chemical information and modeling · 2026Article
- Delta opioid receptors: Overlooked outlier or the next big thing.Current opinion in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Opioid receptor signaling throughout ontogeny: Shaping neural and behavioral trajectories.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2025Review
- Buprenorphine Pharmacodynamics: A Bridge to Understanding Buprenorphine Clinical Benefits.Drugs · 2025Review
- Identification of 1,3,8-Triazaspiro[4.5]Decane-2,4-Dione Derivatives as a NovelThe Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2024Article
- Opioid Mechanisms and the Treatment of Depression.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2024Review
- Receptor expression and signaling properties in the brain, and structural ligand motifs that contribute to delta opioid receptor agonist-induced seizures.Neuropharmacology · 2023Review
- Therapeutic Potential of Orally Administered Rubiscolin-6.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Delta Opioid Receptor-Mediated Antidepressant-Like Effects of Diprenorphine in Mice.The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2023Article
- Novel Therapeutic Targets for Migraine.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- Contribution of the Opioid System to the Antidepressant Effects of Fluoxetine.Biological psychiatry · 2022Article
- The opioid system in depression.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2022Review
- New Oral Drugs for Migraine.CNS drugs · 2022Review
- Opportunities and Challenges for In Silico Drug Discovery at Delta Opioid Receptors.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- The Use of Zebrafish as a Non-traditional Model Organism in Translational Pain Research: The Knowns and the Unknowns.Current neuropharmacology · 2022Article
- Exercise Ameliorates Fluoride-induced Anxiety- and Depression-like Behavior in Mice: Role of GABA.Biological trace element research · 2022Article
- Delta-Opioid Receptors Play a Role in the Control of Selected Parameters Related to Stress and Brain Plasticity Under Non-stress and/or Stress Conditions.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2022Article
- Delta opioid receptor activation modulates affective pain and modality-specific pain hypersensitivity associated with chronic neuropathic pain.Journal of neuroscience research · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
Abstract
rationalePatients with anxious major depressive disorder (AMDD) have more severe symptoms and poorer treatment response than patients with non-AMDD. Increasing evidence implicates the endogenous opioid system in the pathophysiology of depression. AZD2327 is a selective delta opioid receptor (DOR) agonist with anxiolytic and antidepressant activity in animal models.
objectiveThis double-blind, parallel group design, placebo-controlled pilot study evaluated the safety and efficacy of AZD2327 in a preclinical model and in patients with AMDD.
methodsWe initially tested the effects of AZD2327 in an animal model of AMDD. Subsequently, 22 subjects with AMDD were randomized to receive AZD2327 (3 mg BID) or placebo for 4 weeks. Primary outcome measures included the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). We also evaluated neurobiological markers implicated in mood and anxiety disorders, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and electroencephalogram (EEG).
resultsSeven (54 %) patients responded to active drug and three (33 %) responded to placebo. No significant main drug effect was found on either the HAM-D (p = 0.39) or the HAM-A (p = 0.15), but the HAM-A had a larger effect size. Levels of AZ12311418, a major metabolite of AZD2327, were higher in patients with an anti-anxiety response to treatment compared to nonresponders (p = 0.03). AZD2327 treatment decreased VEGF levels (p = 0.02). There was a trend (p < 0.06) for those with an anti-anxiety response to have higher EEG gamma power than nonresponders.
conclusionThese results suggest that AZD2327 has larger potential anxiolytic than antidepressant efficacy. Additional research with DOR agonists should be considered.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.