Gabapentin therapy: an evidence-based medicine for neuropathic pain

Published in the Pharmacy and Pharmacology journal, a recent review analyzed the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic features of Gabapentin and compared its efficacy and safety at different doses. Various renowned databases such as Pubmed, Embase, etc. were used as search resources for 26 years resulting in 87 literature sources.

Neuropathic pain is very common among people in the working age group. Pharmacotherapy is aimed to eliminate this pain syndrome and improve the quality of life of these patients. Neuropathic pain has various etiological factors and so there is a need of drugs influencing the analgesic effects which works by weakening the transmission of pain impulses in the CNS.

Gabapentin, in particular has been shown to have profound results in treating patients with post herpetic neuropathic pain, painful diabetic neuropathy and many other conditions associated with neuropathic pain. The recommended initial dose of Gabapentin is 300 mg/day and requires further slow titration depending on the patient’s response and tolerability to the drug, especially in older, senile patients and patients with impaired renal function.

Various studies have proved Gabapentin to have pronounced analgesic effect at a dose of 3600 mg/day. It has a satisfactory safety profile and pharmacodynamic effects rendering effective for painful conditions.