How high-fat and ketogenic diets change morphine's pain relief and addiction risk
Official title: The effects of eating a high fat diet on the therapeutic and abuse-related effects of morphine
Funded at University of Texas El Paso · NIH-11325421 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looks at whether eating a high‑fat or ketogenic diet changes how morphine relieves pain and how rewarding or risky it is for people with obesity or chronic pain.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas El Paso NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (El Paso, United States) |
| Project start | June 1, 2023 |
| Project end | March 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $151,360 |
| NIH project number | 5R16GM149426-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11325421 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This work is most relevant to people with obesity, those with chronic pain who take prescription opioids, and people with a history of opioid use disorder.
✕Less likely to help
Because this is animal-based mechanistic research, people seeking immediate clinical treatment or new therapies are unlikely to see direct short-term benefits.
What this research studies
This work uses rats to model how different diets alter morphine's pain-relieving and reward-related effects. Researchers will feed animals high‑fat, ketogenic, or low‑fat control diets and then give morphine while measuring pain responses, reward-like behaviors, and physiological signals. Behavioral tests and biological assays will track sensitivity to morphine, adverse effects, and brain pathways such as AKT signaling. The goal is to learn whether dietary history can change both therapeutic benefit and abuse risk for opioids.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could help clinicians know whether diet influences opioid effectiveness or addiction risk and inform safer prescribing or diet guidance.
How similar studies have gone: Some prior animal studies suggest diet can change drug responses, but comparing high‑fat versus ketogenic effects on morphine's therapeutic and abuse-related actions is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
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University of Texas El Paso
El Paso, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Serafine, Katherine Marie — University of Texas El Paso
- Study coordinator: Serafine, Katherine Marie
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.