BMC Psychiatry
October 16, 2026
Morfeas Koumas, Markos Apostolakis, Evanthia Bella et al.
Abstract Background Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic relapsing condition associated with substantial mortality. Although medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) can be effective in reducing opioid use and improving treatment outcomes, relapse to drug use remains common, highlighting the need for adjunctive interventions that address relapse-relevant symptoms not fully targeted by MOUD...
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
June 8, 2025
Anna Onisiforou, Morfeas Koumas, Andria Michael et al.
preprint
Abstract Background Opioid abstinence induces persistent emotional disturbances and widespread neuroplastic changes, in areas of the brain including the hippocampus. Although ketamine and its metabolite ( 2R,6R )-hydroxynorketamine (HNK) show potential in reversing opioid abstinence-related deficits in rodents, the molecular mechanisms underlying their efficacy remain poorly understood. Methods...
Biological Psychiatry
March 15, 2025
Anna Onisiforou, Andria Michael, Markos Apostolakis et al.
14 citations
Opioid use disorder (OUD) has reached epidemic proportions, with many countries facing high levels of opioid use and related fatalities. Although currently prescribed medications for OUD are considered lifesaving, they inadequately address negative affect and cognitive impairment, resulting in high relapse rates to nonmedical opioid use even years after drug cessation (protracted abstinence)....
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior
February 1, 2023
Anna Onisiforou, Polymnia Georgiou, Panos Zanos
Major depression (MDD) is a serious neuropsychiatric disorder afflicting around 16-17 % of the global population and is accompanied by recurrent episodes of sadness and suicidal thoughts. Current pharmacological interventions take several weeks to even months for an improvement in depressive symptoms to emerge, with a significant percentage of individuals not responding to these medications at...