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REVIEW article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1319897
This article is part of the Research Topic The Gut-Liver Axis: the Main Role of Microbiome in Liver Diseases View all 16 articles

Could chronic opiod use be an additional risk of hepatic damage in patients with previous liver diseases, and what is the role of microbiome? Authors

Provisionally accepted
Giovanni Tarantino Giovanni Tarantino 1*Mauro Cataldi Mauro Cataldi 2Vincenzo Citro Vincenzo Citro 3
  • 1 Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
  • 2 Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
  • 3 Department of General Medicine, Umberto 1 Hospital, Rome, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Among illicit drugs, addiction from opioids and synthetic opioids is soaring in an unparalleled manner with its unacceptable amount of deaths. Apart these extreme consequences, the liver toxicity is another important aspect that should be highlighted. Accordingly, the chronic use of these substances, of which fentanyl is the most frequently consumed, represents an additional risk of liver damage in patients with underlying chronic liver disease. These observations are drawn from various preclinical and clinical studies present in literature. Several downstream molecular events have been proposed, but recent pieces of research strengthen the hypothesis that dysbiosis of the gut microbiota is a solid mechanism inducing and worsening liver damage by both alcohol and illicit drugs. In this scenario, the gut flora modification ascribed to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease performs an additive role. Interestingly enough, HBV and HCV infection impact gut-liver axis. In the end, authors tried to solicit the attention of operators on this major health care problem.

    Keywords: Opioids, Fentanyl, Liver Toxicity, Gut Flora Dysbiosis, CYP 3A4, Interleukins, Opiods, Opioids

    Received: 11 Oct 2023; Accepted: 18 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Tarantino, Cataldi and Citro. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Giovanni Tarantino, Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, 80131, Italy

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