Anticonvulsants – Analgesics, Case Reports and Obstetrical Pain

00:00 So another group of drugs that have been used in the treatment of chronic pain are some anticonvulsants. These reduce neuronal excitability and may help some patients with peripheral neuropathy. And the two that are most commonly stated are Gabapentin and Carbamazepine, which are used in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. And Trigeminal neuralgia, which is a condition in which the face becomes intensely painful, and in which allodynia, this business of barely touching the skin, results in exquisite pain. And, gabapentin and carbamazepine have been used in the treatment of that condition. They both cause some dizziness, some somnolence, confusion, ataxia, they're not drugs that you would take just for fun.

00:49 There's a newer drug in the family called Pregabalin, which is a new drug in this family. It has fewer side effects than gabapentin from which it is derived, and it's aggressively marketed and cost much more than the other drugs.