The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines neuropathic pain as pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system. Neuropathic pain can either be central or peripheral. Central neuropathic pain is caused by a lesion or disease of the central somatosensory nervous system, whereas peripheral pain is caused by a lesion or disease of the peripheral somatosensory nervous system (IASP, 2012). The management of neuropathic pain is challenging because many patients have pain that is refractory to the treatments that are available (Dworkin, 2010).
The anticonvulsants drugs, Pregabalin and Gabapentin are commonly used for neuropathic pain. Gabapentin is used off-label for the treatment of neuropathic pain, …show more content…
It is recommended that initially low dosages are used and then gradually titrated up until pain relief, with limited adverse-effects is reached or until 3600 mg/d in three divided doses is reached. An adequate trial of treatment with Gabapentin can require two months or more (Fudin, 2015) (Dworkin, 2010).
Pregabalin is quickly absorbed and the maximum rate of absorption is three times more than that of Gabapentin. It reaches peak blood concentrations within one hour after ingestion. The absorption of Pregabalin is, therefore, not saturable, and the drug has a linear pharmacokinetic profile. Pregabalin may have much faster analgesic effects than Gabapentin because the initial dosage of 150 mg/d has been found to be efficacious in some trials and because the time required to titrate to a full dosage is less. (Fudin, 2015) (Dworkin, 2010).
Gabapentin and Pregabalin also differ with regards to their binding affinity and potency. Pregabalin has an increased binding affinity for the alpha-2-delta protein and is a more potent analgesic in neuropathic pain as compared to Gabapentin (Fudin,
The anticonvulsants drugs, Pregabalin and Gabapentin are commonly used for neuropathic pain. Gabapentin is used off-label for the treatment of neuropathic pain, …show more content…
It is recommended that initially low dosages are used and then gradually titrated up until pain relief, with limited adverse-effects is reached or until 3600 mg/d in three divided doses is reached. An adequate trial of treatment with Gabapentin can require two months or more (Fudin, 2015) (Dworkin, 2010).
Pregabalin is quickly absorbed and the maximum rate of absorption is three times more than that of Gabapentin. It reaches peak blood concentrations within one hour after ingestion. The absorption of Pregabalin is, therefore, not saturable, and the drug has a linear pharmacokinetic profile. Pregabalin may have much faster analgesic effects than Gabapentin because the initial dosage of 150 mg/d has been found to be efficacious in some trials and because the time required to titrate to a full dosage is less. (Fudin, 2015) (Dworkin, 2010).
Gabapentin and Pregabalin also differ with regards to their binding affinity and potency. Pregabalin has an increased binding affinity for the alpha-2-delta protein and is a more potent analgesic in neuropathic pain as compared to Gabapentin (Fudin,