Researchers in Australia have discovered that a dietary supplement reverses several effects of opioid exposure before birth in rats, which could potentially aid children born to mothers using opioids.  

Opioid painkillers such as morphine and methadone have a high addiction potential, but they are very effective and are sometimes necessary to manage either pain or opioid withdrawal symptoms, including in babies. 

Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) implanted a small pump in pregnant rats that delivered methadone during pregnancy and early nursing without the need for multiple interventions. A sub-group of pregnant rats was also drinking water supplemented with sodium butyrate, a molecule naturally produced by gut bacteria which helps regulate immune function and brain development. 

“In people using opioids, the balance of gut bacteria is disrupted, and butyrate production drops. We wanted to see if replacing that missing butyrate could make a difference in rats because their biology closely mimics our own,” explained UNSW researcher Isobel Williams, main author of the study published in Translational Psychiatry. 

Pups exposed to methadone had disrupted balance of gut bacteria and brain tissue damage, and grew to develop signs of fear, stress, anxiety and memory problems in adolescence and adulthood. These effects were partially reversed when pups were exposed to methadone and receiving sodium butyrate supplementation. 

Future research will further study the effects of the supplement in the body. “These interactions are complex, and introducing the supplement could potentially disrupt the balance in otherwise healthy systems," said Kelly Clemens, also from UNSW and lead of the study.

Kelly Clemens and Isobel Williams. CREDIT: UNSW Sydney