Endogenous opioid peptides and epilepsy.

The discovery of the existence of opiate receptors in 1973 and of the endogenous opioid peptides, leu and met-enkephalin in 1975, has elicited an extensive search for the physiological and pathophysiological role of opioid systems. The role of endogenous opioid peptides in pathophysiology and pharmacotherapy of epilepsies is one of the most exciting and stimulating new areas in the study of the endogenous opioid systems. The present understanding in this area is fragmentary and hence further attempts to elucidate the opioid function in epilepsies is of fundamental importance. The aim of this review is to summarize some of the recent findings on the link between the endogenous opioid peptides and epilepsy.