• Gina Games and Amber Hutchison.
• Harrison School of Pharmacy, Auburn University, 1321 Walker Building (4201F), Auburn, AL 36849.
• Consult Pharm. 2013 Oct 1;28(10):672-5.

AbstractWith the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) increasing, pathologic complications such as diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) are also becoming more common. Of those diagnosed with DM, 10% to 20% of patients suffer from painful DPN. Until recently, only pregabalin and duloxetine possessed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for this condition. However, FDA recently approved tapentadol-ER [extended release] (Nucynta ER) for painful DPN. Tapentadol-ER is an opioid analgesic commonly used for the treatment of moderate-to-severe chronic pain that contains a unique dual mechanism acting as both a weak mu-opiod receptor agonist and norepinephine-reuptake inhibitor. It is by way of this unique dual mechanism that allows for effective analgesic effects with increased tolerability. This new FDA approval provides an additional therapeutic option to treat DPN in symptomatic patients.

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