gabapentin / Generic mfg. - LARVOL DELTA

Emerging Clinical Roles of Gabapentin and Adverse Effects, Including Weight Gain, Obesity, Depression, Suicidal Thoughts and Increased Risk of Opioid-Related Overdose and Respiratory Depression: A Narrative Review. (PubMed, Curr Pain Headache Rep) - "To optimize therapeutic benefits while minimizing risks, healthcare providers must adopt individualized treatment plans, carefully adjust dosages, and educate patients. Further research is essential to better understand mechanisms of action, improve safety profiles, and develop prescribing practices that balance efficacy with reduced adverse outcomes."

Adverse events • Journal • Review • Addiction (Opioid and Alcohol) • CNS Disorders • Depression • Diabetic Neuropathy • Epilepsy • Fibromyalgia • Genetic Disorders • Insomnia • Metabolic Disorders • Mood Disorders • Movement Disorders • Musculoskeletal Pain • Neuralgia • Obesity • Pain • Post-traumatic Stress Disorder • Psychiatry • Restless Legs Syndrome • Rheumatology • Sleep Disorder • Suicidal Ideation

Efficacy of prophylactic gabapentin in managing oral mucositis pain in patients undergoing non-surgical management of head and neck tumors. (PubMed, Support Care Cancer) - "Based on a critical review of the systematic review titled "Efficacy of prophylactic gabapentin in managing oral mucositis pain in patients undergoing non-surgical management of head and neck tumors" by Baig et al.1, several instances of "spin" are evident. Here are the main issues and an objective restatement of the findings."

Journal • Head and Neck Cancer • Mucositis • Oncology • Pain • Solid Tumor • Stomatitis

Cardiovascular safety of gabapentinoids gabapentin & pregabalin: A systematic review. (PubMed, Indian J Med Res) - "Their use was associated with increased risk of pulmonary embolism after three months [HR 1.27 (1.09, 1.46); P=0.002], one-year [HR 1.23 (1.01, 1.40); P=0.04], and five years of [HR 1.86 (1.64, 2.09); I2=0%; P<0.0001] use. Interpretation & conclusions The use of gabapentinoids was associated with increased risks of thrombotic events as early as three months of use, and with increased risk of cardiovascular events on prolonged use of more than a year duration."

Journal • Review • Atrial Fibrillation • Cardiovascular • Congestive Heart Failure • Heart Failure • Hematological Disorders • Myocardial Infarction • Peripheral Arterial Disease • Pulmonary Embolism • Respiratory Diseases

Caudal epidural steroid injection as a novel therapy for treatment-induced neuropathy of diabetes in children: report of two cases. (PubMed, J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab) - "These cases underscore the importance of recognizing TIND as a potential complication of rapid glycemic control and the challenges in its management. CESI appears to be a promising therapeutic option for children with refractory TIND, offering durable pain relief and improved quality of life. Further studies are needed to validate its efficacy and safety in larger cohorts."

Journal • CNS Disorders • Diabetes • Diabetic Neuropathy • Metabolic Disorders • Pain • Pediatrics • Sleep Disorder • Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Long-Term Clinical Response to Medical Treatment, Behavioral Therapy, or Their Combination in Cats With Hyperesthesia Syndrome. (PubMed, J Vet Intern Med) - "Most of the cat's diagnosed with HS, and managed through various therapeutic strategies, experienced an EFP of more than 9 months and showed absence of clinical signs at 1 year follow-up."

Journal • Retrospective data

Use of E-learning improves knowledge and confidence to manage pain and flares in RA (EULAR 2025) - "Of those people experiencing pain in the past 3 months, many took pain medicines in the past month, with 62% reporting using paracetamol, 24% Co-codamol/Co-dydramol, 32% oral Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatories (NSAIDs), 18% topical NSAIDs, 5% Tramadol, 2% pain patches, 2% Gabapentin or Pregabalin, and 18% other over the counter pain medicines. This evaluation of the NRAS SMILE Managing Pain and Flares module has three key findings. First, it highlights the ongoing impact of chronic pain in people with rheumatoid arthritis, with two thirds of people giving module feedback having chronic pain, which was “high impact” in one third of people. Second, it demonstrates that people with RA use a broad range of methods to self-manage their pain, spanning analgesics (particularly paracetamol), and non-drug approaches (with two thirds finding exercise and heat therapy helpful, and one half finding staying positive helpful)."

Immunology • Inflammatory Arthritis • Musculoskeletal Pain • Pain • Rheumatoid Arthritis • Rheumatology

Identifying Maternal Conditions Leading to Gabapentinoid Prescriptions in Pregnancy Using Electronic Health Records from Six European Countries: A Contribution from the IMI ConcePTION Project. (PubMed, Drug Saf) - "Our study provides valuable insights into gabapentinoid use during pregnancy, with anxiety being the most common condition among pregnant women with gabapentinoid prescriptions in Finland, Italy, Spain, and Wales, whereas neuropathic pain predominated in France and Norway. Moreover, we found that between 3 and 23% of these pregnancies were associated with substance abuse, underscoring the need for careful prescribing of commonly abused medicines. The proposed methods for detecting maternal conditions leading to prescribing will facilitate accurate assessment of medication use and safety during pregnancy, whilst addressing confounding by indication."

Journal • Bipolar Disorder • CNS Disorders • Epilepsy • Fibromyalgia • General Anxiety Disorder • Mood Disorders • Movement Disorders • Musculoskeletal Pain • Neuralgia • Pain • Psychiatry • Restless Legs Syndrome • Rheumatology • Sleep Disorder • Substance Abuse

Extracellular vesicles from melatonin-preconditioned mesenchymal stromal cells protect human umbilical vein endothelial cells against hypoxia/reoxygenation detected by UHPLC-QE-MS/MS untargeted metabolic profiling. (PubMed, Cell Transplant) - "Furthermore, we observed increased levels of palmitoylcarnitine (fatty acid-derived mitochondrial substrate) and gabapentin in the MT-EVs group, which may play a therapeutic role in HuVECs during H/R. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that MT-EVs can protect endothelial cells from H/R injury by affecting the metabolic pathways."

Journal • Cardiovascular • Metabolic Disorders • Myocardial Infarction • Myocardial Ischemia • Reperfusion Injury

EPMP: Pain Management Protocol in Abdominal Surgeries in City of Erbil (clinicaltrials.gov) - P=N/A | N=136 | Active, not recruiting | Sponsor: Haroon Muhammad Khalil

New trial • Pain

RCAN1-Mediated Calcineurin Impairment Drives Sympathetic Outflow in Hypertension. (PubMed, Circ Res) - "Blocking NMDARs with memantine or inhibiting α2δ-1 with gabapentin substantially reduced elevated arterial blood pressure in both FK506-treated WKY and SHR. RCAN1-mediated calcineurin inhibition in the PVN augments sympathetic outflow by promoting synaptic expression and activity of α2δ-1-bound NMDARs in SHR. These findings identify a novel molecular mechanism underlying sympathetic overactivity in genetic hypertension and suggest potential therapeutic targets for neurogenic hypertension."

Journal • Cardiovascular • Developmental Disorders • Genetic Disorders • Hypertension

Development and evaluation of gastroretentive mucoadhesive microspheres of gabapentin. (PubMed, Pak J Pharm Sci) - "Formulation 5 is the optimal formulation, demonstrating sustained drug release and excellent mucoadhesive properties. These microspheres hold promise for the oral sustained release of Gabapentin, potentially improving the treatment of epilepsy and neuropathic pain."

Journal • CNS Disorders • Epilepsy • Neuralgia • Pain

Pharmacokinetics of Single Dose and Multidose Oral Gabapentin in Goats (Capra aegagrus hircus). (PubMed, J Vet Pharmacol Ther) - "Accumulation ratio (R) was 1.66 ± 0.81 when comparing the MD AUC12h to the SD AUC12h. Clinicians should be aware of the potential for increased accumulation ratio with multiple dosing strategies."

Journal • PK/PD data • Neuralgia • Pain

Benefits and risks of gabapentinoids in geriatric psychiatry (PubMed, Nervenarzt) - "Currently, sufficient evidence for a recommendation on gabapentinoids for the treatment of BPSD (or other off-label indications in geriatric psychiatry) or GAD in older patients is not available. In the case of insufficient efficacy of nonpharmacological interventions and substances with better evidence, gabapentinoids can be considered for the treatment of BPSD and GAD in older patients, particularly when the specific characteristics of gabapentinoids can be beneficial in a particular case; however, the specific risks should be considered."

Journal • Review • Alzheimer's Disease • Atrial Fibrillation • Cardiovascular • CNS Disorders • Cognitive Disorders • Dementia • Depression • Epilepsy • General Anxiety Disorder • Infectious Disease • Musculoskeletal Diseases • Musculoskeletal Pain • Neuralgia • Orthopedics • Pain • Pneumonia • Psychiatry • Respiratory Diseases

OPTION-VMS: A Study Following Women in Menopause Treated With a Non-hormonal Therapy for Hot Flashes and Night Sweats (clinicaltrials.gov) - P=N/A | N=1003 | Active, not recruiting | Sponsor: Astellas Pharma Global Development, Inc. | Recruiting ➔ Active, not recruiting

Enrollment closed • Real-world evidence

Impact of psychiatric pharmacist-led ambulatory alcohol withdrawal management. (PubMed, Ment Health Clin) - "The most common medications utilized included gabapentin (62.9%; n = 22), chlordiazepoxide (8.6%; n = 3), and diazepam (8.6%; n = 3). Psychiatric-CPPs practicing in a Veterans Affairs Healthcare System successfully completed AAWM in a majority of the episodes that were attempted. Additionally, few patients were seen in an emergency department setting for alcohol-related matters after initiation of AAWM, perhaps emphasizing the safety of this service and the need for further use."

Journal • Addiction (Opioid and Alcohol) • Psychiatry

Keratinocyte-TRPV1 sensory neuron interactions in a genetically controllable mouse model of chronic neuropathic itch. (PubMed, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A) - "Here, we describe a profound chronic itch phenotype in transgenic mice expressing the tetracycline transactivator (tTA) gene within the Phox2a lineage. Phox2a; tTA mice exhibit intense, localized scratching and regional skin lesions, controllable by the tTA inhibitor, doxycycline. As gabapentin and the kappa opioid receptor agonist, nalfurafine, but not morphine, significantly reduce scratching, this phenotype has a pharmacological profile of neuropathic pruritus...In contrast denervation induced loss of all cutaneous input rapidly blocks scratching. These findings identify the cellular, molecular, and topographic basis of a robust and chronic sensory neuron-dependent and gabapentin-responsive neuropathic itch that is initiated by genetic factors within keratinocytes."

Journal • Preclinical • Addiction (Opioid and Alcohol) • Dermatology • Pruritus • HOXB5 • TRPV1

Cross-sectional survey of the use of analgesic drugs in native birds in wildlife centres in Aotearoa New Zealand. (PubMed, N Z Vet J) - "The most frequently reported analgesic used for the treatment of native birds was meloxicam, but butorphanol, buprenorphine and gabapentin were also reported to be commonly used. Meloxicam, butorphanol and tramadol were most frequently reported as commonly used analgesic drugs for avian species endemic to NZ. We highlight the need for further research on the dose requirements for analgesic drugs in New Zealand native birds to provide optimal care to this group of patients."

Journal • Pain

The prevalence and disease burden of CKD associated pruritus in Danish dialysis patients and current treatment practices (ERA 2025) - "Gabapentinoids (gabapentin and pregabalin) were rated third choice by most, but nephrologist prescribed pregabalin more than residents as their first or second treatment choice ( P=0.03 X2-test). Difelikefalin was not chosen (90%) or rated as fourth choice by 4% of nephrologists in our survey... Roughly one out of five patients on chronic dialysis treatment suffers from CKD-aP. HRQoL is negatively affected by CKD-aP primarily manifested as sleep disturbance. Most physicians tend to overestimate CKD-aP prevalence and use dialysis and fatty cream as their preferred treatment."

Clinical • Chronic Kidney Disease • CNS Disorders • Dermatology • Nephrology • Pruritus • Sleep Disorder

Exploring the second line agent of choice in the management of Chronic Kidney Disease-associated Pruritus: A global cross-sectional study of clinician experience and preference (ERA 2025) - "90% confirmed either gabapentin or pregabalin as their first-line in treatment of CKD-aP in line with best practice and current evidence...Other second line options includes first-generation antihistamines 13% (n=4) and Difelikefalin (7%). 3% (n=1) of respondents reported to use either UV-B phototherapy, oral Sertraline or topical Capsaicin cream respectively... Gabapentinoids continue to be the mainstay of CKD-aP treatment. This study highlights marked heterogeny in preferred second line option in management of this debilitating condition. Further research is required to develop guidance in CKD-aP symptom management."

Clinical • Observational data • Chronic Kidney Disease • Dermatology • Nephrology • Pruritus • Renal Disease

Difelikefalin for the management of severe pruritus in a hospital-based haemodialysis population: a Quality Improvement Project (UKKW 2025) - "In May 2023, NICE recommended Difelikefalin for the treatment of moderate to severe pruritus in adults with chronic kidney disease having in-centre haemodialysis, in whom other interventions such as creams and emollients, antihistamines and gabapentin had failed. 37 of the 93 (39.78%) hospital-based haemodialysis patients surveyed described severe itch (greater than or equal 7 on the WI-NRS scale) and were offered difelikefalin therapy. A decision was made not to proceed with difelikefalin for 12 of the 37 patients (32.43%): 3 had been admitted to hospital with new, intercurrent illness; 6 had moved haemodialysis centre; 2 went on holiday, and 1 patient did not attend haemodialysis sessions 3 times per week as prescribed. 10 of those 37 patients (27.02%) no longer experienced severe itch at the time of intervention and they were also excluded from the study."

Clinical • Chronic Kidney Disease • CNS Disorders • Depression • Dermatology • Nephrology • Pain • Pruritus • Psychiatry • Renal Disease

Bilateral Hemifacial Spasm After Filler Injection. (PubMed, Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg) - "The patient was started on oral gabapentin and the frequency of her spasms improved significantly...Her bilateral hemifacial spasm was presumed secondary to compression from persistent filler deposited adjacent to the temporal and zygomatic branches of the facial nerve, with retrograde activation of the other nerve branches. This is the first reported case of hemifacial spasm that may be associated with filler injection."

Journal • Aesthetic Medicine • Ophthalmology

Combined Effects of Gabapentin with Verapamil and Metoprolol on Cardiovascular Function of Anesthetized Male Rats. (PubMed, Eur J Pharmacol) - "Under isoflurane anesthesia, rats underwent ECG monitoring and LV hemodynamic and blood pressure (BP) assessment. In addition, in vitro experiments demonstrated that GBP reduced Ca2+ current and downregulated CaM protein. These findings suggest that, at high plasma concentrations, GBP enhances the negative chronotropic, negative inotropic, and hypotensive effects of both Ver and Met, further highlighting the need for additional preclinical and clinical studies to characterize the potential drug interactions between GBP and calcium channel blockers or beta-1 blockers, particularly in patients with cardiovascular disease."

Journal • Preclinical • Anesthesia • Cardiovascular • Hypotension

Sex Differences in Adverse Events Reported With Concomitant Buprenorphine and Insomnia Medications Use (CPDD 2025) - "Secondary search terms included commonly prescribed medications for insomnia: “temazepam”, “triazolam”, “estazolam”, “lorazepam”, “clonazepam”, “alprazolam”, “ramelteon”, “doxepin”, “trazodone”, “mirtazapine”, “suvorexant”, “lemborexant”, “daridorexant”, “quetiapine”, “hydroxyzine”, “gabapentin”, “eszopiclone”, “zaleplon”, “zolpidem”, “zolpidem ER”. Contrary to previous research demonstrating that females are involved in more AE reports across pharmacovigilance databases (Brabete et al., 2022), and that females taking 1 buprenorphine had an increased likelihood of insomnia medications prescription receipt, compared to their male counterparts (Martin et al., 2023), we did not find sex differences in the number of AE reports. However, the data suggest that males taking concomitant buprenorphine and insomnia medications, specifically benzodiazepines and DORAs, may experience more serious AEs than females."

Adverse events • CNS Disorders • Insomnia • Sleep Disorder

Medication Development for Cannabis Use Disorder and Cannabis Withdrawal (CPDD 2025) - "First, a 12-week randomized controlled trial found significant reductions in cannabis use outcomes with varenicline treatment combined with medical management compared to placebo treatment...Second, treatment-seeking youth with CUD were randomized to receive a double-blind 12-week course of oral N-acetylcysteine (NAC) 1200 mg or placebo twice daily; all received weekly medical management and brief behavioral counseling. No difference in cannabis use reduction or cessation outcomes was noted between participants in the NAC and placebo groups, suggesting that NAC is not efficacious for youth CUD when not paired with contingency management. Finally, a phase 2 randomized multi-center double-blind, multiple dose, placebo-controlled clinical trial demonstrated that a unique 34-day taper/titration with nabilone and gabapentin (PP-01) significantly mitigated withdrawal symptoms and decreased cannabis use compared to placebo in adults with moderate to severe CUD seeking to..."

Substance Abuse

The Effects of Combined Gabapentin and Oxycodone at Supratherapeutic Doses in Humans (CPDD 2025) - "Oxycodone produced prototypic opioid effects while gabapentin produced signals of 1 abuse potential with no changes in respiratory function. While the observed interactions did not achieve statistical significance, it is concerning that respiratory depression was worsened by combining gabapentin with oxycodone suggesting some additional public health risk with this drug combination among persons who were not physically dependent on opioids and gabapentin."

Addiction (Opioid and Alcohol) • CNS Disorders • Depression • Pain • Psychiatry