Ultram® ER (
tramadol ER) is a long-acting pain reliever that is taken just once a day. It comes in extended-release tablets and is approved for treating moderate to moderately severe chronic pain in adults.
Ultram ER is made by Biovail Corporation for PriCara, a unit of Ortho-McNeil, Inc.
Ultram ER tablets are specially designed to release the medication continuously over a 24-hour period. Ultram ER contains
tramadol, a drug that is classified as a "centrally acting opioid analgesic." This means that it works in the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), acts much like
morphine in the body, and relieves pain. Much like morphine, Ultram ER binds to certain opioid receptors in the body known as μ ("mu") receptors.
Ultram ER also works a little like some
antidepressant medications by inhibiting the reuptake of certain brain chemicals (serotonin and norepinephrine). Serotonin and norepinephrine are two of several chemicals used to send messages from one nerve cell to another. As a message travels down a nerve, it causes the end of the cell to release serotonin or norepinephrine. The serotonin or norepinephrine enters the gap between the first nerve cell and the one next to it.
When enough serotonin or norepinephrine reaches the second nerve cell, it activates receptors on the cell and the message continues on its way. The first cell then quickly absorbs any serotonin or norepinephrine that remains in the gap between cells. This is called "reuptake."
