Fall Research Expo 2020

NOWS: Developmental Vulnerabilities Following Maternal Buprenorphine Exposure

I contributed to a literature review on neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS), focusing on developmental vulnerabilities following maternal buprenorphine exposure. Buprenorphine medications are FDA-approved for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD), and may be prescribed to pregnant women struggling with opioid addiction. There exists an inherent vulnerability in the offspring of mothers exposed to opioids during pregnancy that has not yet been systematically characterized with behavioral and biochemical outcomes. Thus, the objective of my research was to use the available literature to examine current models and existing knowledge on maternal buprenorphine exposure and NOWS. Preclinical rodent models provided varying insights and observations on the effects of maternal buprenorphine exposure on offspring.

 

PRESENTED BY
PURM - Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program
College of Arts & Sciences 2022
PRESENTED BY
PURM - Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program
College of Arts & Sciences 2022

Comments

Annie, very interesting. Do you think these preclinical models actually model the human condition? I am wondering how many studies actually expose the mother to a full opioid agonist prior to buprenorphine.  

Hi Annie! This literature review is really interesting especially given the varied results. Do you think the outcomes of these studies would differ if the mother was went through addiction to an opioid (or an opioid agonist) before pregnancy and receiving BUP? In other words, do you think the mother going through withdrawal will interfere with the fetus in addition to the effect of BUP? 

Hi Annie,

Great job on your project. It looks very interesting and sounds like a great opportunity to be part of a literature review. What made you decide to do research on opioids? I find the social ramifications such as the opioid crisis very interesting.

Elisa