Epilepsia
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Review Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Postherpetic neuralgia: role of gabapentin and other treatment modalities.
Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a chronic and painful condition that may occur after a herpes zoster infection. The frequency of PHN after untreated zoster varies widely. Age is the most important risk factor for development of PHN. ⋯ Until recently, carbamazepine was the only antiepileptic drug evaluated for the treatment of PHN. Over the past few years, however, gabapentin has received increasing attention as a useful treatment for neuropathic pain. Gabapentin lacks significant drug-drug interactions and has a favorable safety profile, which makes it particularly useful for treatment of PHN.
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Status epilepticus (SE) treatment should proceed on four fronts: termination of SE, prevention of recurrence, management of potential precipitating causes, and management of SE complications and underlying conditions. The intensity of the treatment should reflect the risk to the patient from SE, and drugs likely to depress respiration and blood pressure should initially be avoided. The Veterans Administration cooperative trial showed that when treating overt SE, first-line treatment success rates were: lorazepam 64.9%; phenobarbital 58.2%; diazepam/phenytoin 55.8%; and phenytoin alone 43.6%. ⋯ Patients at this stage should undergo continuous electroencephalogram monitoring. Once SE is controlled, prevention of seizure recurrence should be individualized to each patient. The major complications of generalized convulsive SE (GCSE), rhabdomyolysis and hyperthermia, should be watched for and treated.
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Review Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Monotherapy trials with gabapentin for partial epilepsy.
The efficacy and safety of gabapentin as monotherapy for treatment of partial onset seizures were evaluated in three large multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group, dose-controlled trials. In the first trial, 275 outpatients with refractory partial epilepsy maintained on stable doses of one or two antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were switched to gabapentin (GBP) monotherapy at 600 mg, 1200 mg, or 2400 mg daily. Patients were required to exit the 26-week double-blind phase of the study if they experienced worsening of seizure frequency. ⋯ The completion rate for the CBZ group (37%) was similar to that of the GBP 900-mg (39%) and 1800-mg (38%) groups. Patients receiving CBZ had a higher withdrawal rate because of adverse events compared with the GBP 900-mg and 1800-mg groups. The results of these trials provide good evidence of the efficacy and safety of GBP as monotherapy for the treatment of partial-onset seizures.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Gabapentin monotherapy for the symptomatic treatment of painful neuropathy: a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in patients with diabetes mellitus.
Pain is the most disturbing symptom of diabetic neuropathy. Traditionally this type of pain was treated with tricyclic antidepressants which frequently have many side effects. ⋯ In addition, patients taking gabapentin had improvement of sleep scores and a number of items on mood and quality of life questionnaires. Gabapentin was tolerated well with mild and tolerable side effects.
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Gabapentin (GBP) is a antiepileptic drug (AED) indicated as adjunct therapy for treatment of partial seizures, with and without secondary generalization, in patients 12 and older with epilepsy. GBP (1-(aminomethyl) cyclohexaneacetic acid) is structurally related to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which readily crosses the blood-brain barrier. Radiolabeled GBP binds throughout the central nervous system in anatomic areas important in treatment of seizures. ⋯ Although efficacy occurs at lower levels, increased GBP doses are associated with additional efficacy. Reports suggest that initiation at 2,400 mg or 3,600 mg may not be associated with increased adverse experiences. Titration to 900 or 1,200 mg on the first day of GBP therapy appear to be well tolerated.