A recent study by Dr. Joshua Lile and his colleagues demonstrated the capability of gabapentin to produce marijuana-like effects in humans. The finding is unexpected since the primary binding site of gabapentin is not thought to be any of the cannabinoid receptor subtypes. Gabapentin (Neurontin®) (Figure 1) is an FDA-approved medication for the treatment of epilepsy and neuropathic pain and sev...

Antagonists for spinal N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and amino-hydroxy-methtyl-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) receptors are effective in attenuating acute nociception or injury-induced hyperalgesia. The antinociception of spinal gabapentin is developed in injury-induced hyperalgesia without affecting acute nociception. The authors evaluated the effects of intrathecal gabapentin, NMDA antagonist (MK80...

BACKGROUND Pruritus (skin irritation or itching) is common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 4 and 5. It is associated with disrupted sleep, reduced quality of life, depression and increased mortality. A video of a patient describing the symptoms is at vimeo.com/49458473. METHODS We used gabapentin or pregabalin in 71 consecutive patients, 82% male. 25 had CKD stage 4 or 5,...

OBJECTIVES The prevalence of insomnia is very high in our society. Although pharmacological treatment of insomnia is available, most hypnotics have been shown to alter sleep architecture and have many adverse effects. Gabapentin was originally designed for antiepileptic therapy; however, some studies reported that its use increases slow-wave sleep in healthy volunteers or patients. Our goal was...

OBJECTIVE To examine the evidence of preemptive use of gabapentin in abdominal hysterectomy. DATA SOURCES We conducted an electronic based search using the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. The following medical subject heading terms, keywords, and their combinations were used: "postoperative pain, hyster...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES There are limited data examining the real-world use of gabapentin and pregabalin for the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). This study examines dosing patterns, therapy outcomes, healthcare utilization and costs of patients with PHN who initiate treatment with gabapentin or pregabalin. METHODS This was a retrospective administrative claims data analysis from...

Gabapentin decreases the level of glutamate and elevates that of alpha-amino-butyric acid in the central nervous system. Gabapentin was shown to have antinociceptive effects in several facilitated pain models. Intrathecal gabapentin was also known to be effective in reducing mechanical allodynia in animals with neuropathic pain. In this study, we investigated to see whether intrathecal gabapent...

Acquired nystagmus occurs frequently in patients with multiple sclerosis and is often the cause of illusory motion of the environment (oscillopsia), and blurring of vision. Based primarily on the beneficial effect of gabapentin on acquired pendular nystagmus (APN), a GABAergic mechanism in controlling nystagmus has been hypothesised. If increasing GABA concentrations in the CNS are critical for...

The absorption of gabapentin (Neurontin) is dose-dependent and variable between patients. Rapid clearance of the drug necessitates dosing three or more times per day to maintain therapeutic levels. These deficiencies appear to result from the low capacity, limited intestinal distribution, and variable expression of the solute transporter responsible for gabapentin absorption. Saturation of this...