Effect of N-Allylnormorphine Upon Massive Doses of Narcotic Drugs

Abstract

Nalorphine is an effective antidote for doses of opiates which would otherwise be lethal, in those instances where signs of depression are the dominant toxic manifestations. It is relatively ineffective, however, in cases where convulsions are a prominent feature. In rabbits and mice receiving convulsant doses of meperidine, coderine or prisilidene, nalorphine alone was seldom life-saving, but administration of both pheno-barbital and nalorphine adequately protected the animals. Codeine and prisilidene did not produce convulsions in rats; nalorphine alone was an effective antidote in these instances.