Oxytocin treats respiratory depression and reduces mortality from fentanyl and the combination of xylazine-fentanyl

Oxytocin (OXT) improves survival and respiratory function in both male and female rats with opioid induced respiratory depression (OIRD) caused by fentanylOXT also reverses OIRD induced by the combination of fentanyl and xylazineThe improvement in respiratory function by OXT post fentanyl-xylazine was significantly greater than the recovery using only naloxoneChemogenetic activation of OXT receptor positive neurons in the ventral respiratory group (VRG) provided similar benefits to that of OXT administration in reversing OIRDThese results indicate OXT is a promising therapeutic target for reversing OIRD and the respiratory depression that occurs with the combination of opioids and xylazine.