What effects does fentanyl have on the human body

Luis Anchundia, Clarissa Escobar, Ryan Good, Katherine Kollman, Sophia Signori Fall 2022

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Writing and Rhetoric l

Dr. Frances Johnson

3 November 2022
 What effects does fentanyl have on the human body

Fentanyl is simultaneously incredibly dangerous but particularly useful. Fentanyl-related

mobility and mortality has alarmingly increased in recent years due to overdose (Kuczynska et

al., 2018). While it does induce respiratory depression (Balanza et al., 2022). High

concentrations to the brain can be dangerous (Djfarzadeh et al., 2016). However, the drug can be

used to reduce pain, fentanyl has become one of the most important opioids in the management

of pain because it is available for administration intravenously, and its flexibility, potency,

familiarity (Stanley et al., 2014). Respiratory side effects are increased in those with pre-existing

cardiovascular and respiratory conditions (Fechtner et al., 2015). Fentanyl has some effects on

gastric motility on several individuals (Wallden et al., 2008). Fentanyl can also be more

sufficient in the brain because it is only affected in specific areas of the brain, while opiate

receptors are distributed widely throughout the brain (Nylander et al., 2021). This paper

describes the various effects, positive and negative, of fentanyl, as shown by many studies. The

current literature review's purpose is to report on the current conversation among scholars on the

topic of fentanyl effects.

What effects does fentanyl have on the brain?

Fentanyl’s high potency means only insignificant amounts are required to produce

extreme effects. Rapid penetration into the brain results in overdose levels being reached more

quickly than with heroin or morphine (Hill et al., 2019). High concentrations interfered with

brain mitochondrial electron transport chain (Djfarzadeh et al., 2016). Decreased ATP

availability due to fentanyl induced impairment of mitochondrial respiration combined with

increase ATP Pgp efflux pump, drug transporters that determine uptake and efflux of ranges of
drugs, resulted in decrease of adenosine store causing decrease in both ATP and ADP

(Djfarzadeh et al., 2016).

How does fentanyl affect someone's mental health and/or physical health?

Fentanyl is a drug that is essentially used to manage pain; however, its side effects can be

difficult to manage and potentially deadly if overdosed (Balanza et al., 2022). Because fentanyl

influences multiple brain circuits (Balanza et al., 2022), it can cause unconsciousness, analgesia,

and respiratory depression. Respiratory depression is an effect that poses significant health risks

(Solis et al., 2017). Respiratory side effects are increased in those pre-existing cardiovascular and

respiratory depression (Fechtner et al., 2015). Heroin and fentanyl doses with similar levels of

depression of respiratory rate were used to test locomotor activity. Cough suppression is also

known to occur in those with high pre-existing respiratory depression (Kelly et al., 2016). It was

observed that heroin increases locomotor activity, while fentanyl decreases locomotor activity

(Hill et al.,2019). Fentanyl is linked to a decrease in energy and feeling down and depressed. In

addition to locomotor activity, fentanyl can reduce a person's reaction time by 277 seconds

(Balanza et al., 2022). Fentanyl affects many areas of the brain, causing many of these symptoms

to happen and affecting one's mental and physical health.

How can fentanyl be used for medicine?

Fentanyl has a few different medical uses, but it is mostly used for pain reduction.

However, patients vary in the degrees of respiratory depression, apnea, and hypoxemia with

routine clinical use (Fechtner et al., 2015). Fentanyl is a widely used synthetic lipid-soluble short

acting narcotic analgesic (Djfarzadeh et al., 2016). Its effects on certain parts of the brain make it

an effective anesthesia (Adler et al., 1997). However, it can also be used alongside more general

anesthesia to reduce the recipient’s defenses against intubation (Balanza et al., 2022). General

anesthesia is often considered safer than only using fentanyl because using too much can cause
increased pain and damage (Firestone et al., 1996). It also impacts mitochondrial morphology,

which could potentially cause neuronal cell death (Nylander et al., 2021). A different use of

fentanyl could reduce cough sensitivity in patients (Kelly et al., 2016).

What are other effects that fentanyl has compared to other drugs (opioid drugs)?

Fentanyl has a lot to do with the mitochondrial network, just like other drugs, but

fentanyl is twice as potent as some key opioid drugs like morphine. The work of Nylander et al.

(2021) showed that fentanyl decreased the mitochondrial network and the number of

mitochondrial objects, and increased the mean area of mitochondrial objects, in which Morphine

was not able to do (Nylander et al., 2021). Fentanyl can also be more sufficient in the brain

because it is only affected in specific areas of the brain, while opiate receptors are distributed

widely throughout the brain (Nylander et al., 2021). Increasing doses of fentanyl in subjects

under propofol anesthesia modified upper airway reflexes, something no other opioid drug has

been proven to do (Kelly et al., 2016). Fentanyl can help more than other drugs, but it can also be

more deadly than other opioid drugs. Fentanyl is much more likely to cause an overdose than

other opioids because it causes respiratory depression in incredibly small doses (Balanza et al.,

2022). Fentanyl is also often mixed up with heroin to increase its potency at a little cost

(Kuczynska et al., 2018). Fentanyl is not only more likely to cause an overdose, but it can also

cause a faster reach in overdose levels than other opioid drugs such as heroin.

Conclusion

Fentanyl is an effective drug for controlling severe acute and chronic pain and is commonly used

for postoperative pain management (Kelly et al., 2016). Like all opioids, fentanyl's most serious

adverse effect is perceived to be dose-dependent respiratory depression (Kelly et al., 2016). It

has become the most often used opioid for intraoperative analgesia (Stanley et al., 2014). There

are also some effects on gastric motility on several individuals (Wallden et al., 2008). This can
reduce a person's reaction time by 277 seconds (Balanza et al., 2022). Another effect is

respiratory depression which poses significant health risks (Solis et al., 2017).

References
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