Codeine is an Opioid Analgesic

Codeine is an Opioid Analgesic
Codeine
Cancer patients experience severe pain, especially in the late stages. Codeine is an opioid analgesic that is effective for pain management in cancer. Its metabolism is significantly influenced by genetics, where the CYP2D6 gene enables the conversion of codeine to morphine in the liver (Song et al., 2021). Approximately ten per cent of humans experience mutation in the gene, abolishing the enzymatic activity (Song et al., 2021). Therefore, codeine bears little or no effect on some patients.
To act, codeine is bound to mu-opioid receptors, which are usually responsible for transmitting pain all over the body, including the central nervous system. The analgesic characteristics of codeine can only be experienced once it is converted to morphine. Codeine is prone to severe side effects and drug interactions with complementary and alternative medicines. However, several hints can be used to monitor the effects. One of these is addiction behaviors that should be monitored before and after prescribing (Song et al., 2021). Another hint is severe re...