Intrathecal morphine, but not buprenorphine or pentazocine, can induce spastic paraparesis after a noninjurious interval of spinal cord ischemia in the rat.

In this study, we sought to determine the effect of intrathecal (IT) pentazocine or buprenorphine on the neurological outcome after a short interval of spinal cord ischemia in rats. Although IT morphine (30 microg) induced spastic paraparesis after 6 min of aortic occlusion, neither pentazocine (150 microg) nor buprenorphine (4 microg) produced neurological dysfunction. Our results indicate that the effect of various opioids on the motor function after a noninjurious interval of spinal cord ischemia is opioid-specific.