Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Gabapentin in PTSD: A Retrospective, Clinical Series of Adjunctive Therapy

Gabapentin in PTSD: A Retrospective, Clinical Series of Adjunctive Therapy Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms may improve significantly with antidepressant medications, however some phenomena often remain refractory to the most commonly used treatments. Frequently, sleep disturbances, such as insomnia and nightmares, are symptoms of PTSD that are refractory to antidepressant treatment. Gabapentin, a novel anticonvulsant agent, has been of interest as a potential anxiolytic agent, but has not been evaluated in PTSD. We reviewed records of 30 consecutive patients who had been diagnosed with PTSD according to structured interviews and had received gabapentin as an adjunctive medication. For each patient, the target symptoms that led to the initiation of gabapentin treatment were identified. Using the most recent clinical data available, the change in target symptom severity following treatment was rated as unimproved, mildly improved, moderately improved, or markedly improved. The gabapentin was often first prescribed to facilitate sleep. The majority (77%) of patients showed moderate or greater improvement in duration of sleep, and most noted a decrease in the frequency of nightmares. The dose range was 300–3600 mg/day. Sedation and mild dizziness were the most commonly reported side effects. This retrospective study suggests that gabapentin may improve in particular sleep difficulties and also other symptoms associated with chronic PTSD. Prospective, controlled studies are needed to further investigate the effects of gabapentin on insomnia, nightmares, and other core PTSD symptoms. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Annals of Clinical Psychiatry Springer Journals

Gabapentin in PTSD: A Retrospective, Clinical Series of Adjunctive Therapy

Download PDF
6 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer-journals/gabapentin-in-ptsd-a-retrospective-clinical-series-of-adjunctive-2dfiJD2wvr
Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 by American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists
Subject
Medicine & Public Health; Neurology; Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology
ISSN
1040-1237
eISSN
1573-3238
DOI
10.1023/A:1012281424057
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms may improve significantly with antidepressant medications, however some phenomena often remain refractory to the most commonly used treatments. Frequently, sleep disturbances, such as insomnia and nightmares, are symptoms of PTSD that are refractory to antidepressant treatment. Gabapentin, a novel anticonvulsant agent, has been of interest as a potential anxiolytic agent, but has not been evaluated in PTSD. We reviewed records of 30 consecutive patients who had been diagnosed with PTSD according to structured interviews and had received gabapentin as an adjunctive medication. For each patient, the target symptoms that led to the initiation of gabapentin treatment were identified. Using the most recent clinical data available, the change in target symptom severity following treatment was rated as unimproved, mildly improved, moderately improved, or markedly improved. The gabapentin was often first prescribed to facilitate sleep. The majority (77%) of patients showed moderate or greater improvement in duration of sleep, and most noted a decrease in the frequency of nightmares. The dose range was 300–3600 mg/day. Sedation and mild dizziness were the most commonly reported side effects. This retrospective study suggests that gabapentin may improve in particular sleep difficulties and also other symptoms associated with chronic PTSD. Prospective, controlled studies are needed to further investigate the effects of gabapentin on insomnia, nightmares, and other core PTSD symptoms.

Journal

Annals of Clinical Psychiatry – Springer Journals

Published: Oct 19, 2004

References

  • The expert consensus guideline series: Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder
    Foa, EB; Davidson, JRT; Frances, A; Culpepper, L; Ross, R; Ross, D
  • Efficacy and safety of sertraline treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized controlled trial
    Brady, KT; Pearlstein, T; Asnis, GM; Barker, D; Rothbaum, B; Sikes, CR; Farfel, GM
  • Fluoxetine in post-traumatic stress disorder: Randomized, double-blind study
    Connor, KM; Sutherland, SM; Tupler, LA; Malik, ML; Davidson, JR
  • Fluoxetine in posttraumatic stress disorder
    van der Kolk, BA; Drefuss, D; Michaels, M; Shera, D; Berkowitz, R; Fisler, R; Saxe, G
  • Lack of efficacy for fluoxetine in PTSD: A placebo controlled trial in combat veterans
    Hertzberg, MA; Feldman, ME; Beckham, JC; Kudler, HS; Davidson, JR
  • Neurobiological and Clinical Consequences of Stress: From Normal Adaptation to PTSD
    Friedman, MJ; Southwick, SM
  • Valproate and carbamazepine in the treatment of panic, posttraumatic stress disorders, withdrawal states, and behavior dyscontrol syndromes
    Keck, PE; McElry, SL; Friedman, LM
  • Psychotic features in chronic posttraumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia
    Hamner, MB; Frueh, BC; Ulmer, HG; Huber, MG; Twomey, TJ; Tyson, C; Arana, GW
  • Valproate in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder
    Fesler, FA
  • Divalproex in posttraumatic stress disorder: An open-label clinical trial
    Clark, RD; Canive, JM; Calais, LA; Qualls, CR; Tuason, VB
  • Divalproex in posttraumatic stress disorder
    Szymanski, HV; Olympia, J
  • A preliminary study of lamotrigine for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder
    Hertzberg, MA; Butterfield, MI; Feldman, ME; Beckham, JC; Sutherland, SM; Connor, KM; Davidson, JR
  • Treatment of social phobia with gabapentin: A placebo-controlled study
    Pande, AC; Davidson, JRT; Jefferson, JW; Janney, CA; Katzelnick, CA; Weisler, RH; Griest, JH; Sutherland, SM
  • Placebo-controlled study of gabapentin treatment of panic disorder
    Pande, AC; Pollack, MH; Crockatt, MA; Greiner, M; Chouinard, G; Lydiard, RB; Taylor, CB; Dager, SR; Shiovitz, T
  • Gabapentin treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (letter)
    Brannon, N; Labbate, L; Huber, M
  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, (DSM-IV)
  • A clinician rating scale for assessing current and lifetime PTSD: The CAPS 1
    Blake, D; Weather, F; Nagy, L; Kaloupek, D; Klauminzer, G; Charney, D; Keane, T
  • Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Three studies in reliability and validity
    Keane, T.; Caddell, JM; Taylor, KL
  • The effect of gabapentin on release of gamma-aminobutyric acid in patients with epilepsy
    Petroff, OA; Rothman, DL; Bekahr, KL; Lamoureux, D; Mattson, RH
  • A summary of mechanistic hypotheses of gabapentin pharmacology
    Taylor, CP; Gee, NS; Su, TZ; Kocsis, JD; Welty, DF; Brown, JP; Dooley, DJ; Boden, P; Singh, L
  • Gabapentin
    Morris, GL.
  • The antiepileptic gabapentin (neurontin) possesses anxiolytic-like properties and antinociceptive actions that are reversed by d-serine
    Singh, L; Field, MJ; Ferris, P; Hunter, JC; Oles, RJ; Williams, RG; Woodruff, GN.
  • Role of norepinephrine in the pathophysiology and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder
    Southwick, SM; Bremner, JD; Rasmusson, A; Morgan, CA; Arnsten, A; Charney, DS
  • Catecholamine Function in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Emerging Concepts
    Hamner, MB; Diamond, BI; Hitri, A
  • Sleep and arousal regulation in posttraumatic stress disorder
    Mellman, TA; Kulick-Bell, RL; Kumar, A; Nolan, B