Theophylline-induced potentiation of the antinociceptive action of baclofen.

1--Theophylline (35, 50 mg/kg) potentiated the antinociceptive action of intraperitoneally administered baclofen in the tail flick and hot plate tests. Potentiation was most marked when the pretreatment time was 1 h, but some potentiation was still apparent following a 2 h pretreatment. 2--Theophylline alone (50 mg/kg) produced only slight alterations in reaction latency in the two tests. 3--When baclofen was applied directly into the spinal subarachnoid space, a 1 h pretreatment with theophylline produced minimal effects, but a 2 h pretreatment produced an increase in the antinociceptive action of baclofen. 4--These results suggest that theophylline can potentiate the antinociceptive action of baclofen by actions at both supraspinal and spinal sites.