CDC Warns That Anti-epileptic Drug Gabapentin Linked to Overdose

Health experts at the federal level are warning that the overuse of Gabapentin has been more frequently connected to overdose deaths in the US in recent years, prompting requests for more education about the dangers of mixing the drug with illegal opioids.

According to a government study released this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), gabapentin was found in about one in ten overdose deaths that occurred in the U.S. between 2019 and 2020, and in about half of those cases, it was found to be the cause of death.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given gabapentin the go-ahead to treat neuropathic pain and epilepsy. In addition, it is frequently prescribed off-label for the management of post-menopausal hot flashes, chronic cough, hiccups, and alcohol use disorder. The closely comparable medication gabapentin enacarbil is authorized to treat post-therapeutic neuralgia and restless legs syndrome. Additionally, the medications are offered in numerous generic forms as well as under the brand names Neurontin, Gralise, and Horizant, as well as for the pregabalin-based medications Lyrica and Lyrica CR.

Gabapentin is frequently taken by illicit opioid users to enhance the effects of the drugs. According to the CDC, there was a 103 percent rise in misuse, purposeful abuse, and unreported exposures to anticonvulsants between 2013 and 2017. This raises the risk of respiratory depression and death.

Using data from the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) in 23 states and the District of Columbia from 2019 through 2020, the CDC evaluated the drug’s contribution to fatal overdoses. The findings show that gabapentin was found in 5,687, or 9.7 percent, of the 58,362 overdose deaths that had toxicology reports. Non-Hispanic Whites accounted for 83.2 percent of overdose deaths. There were almost equal numbers of males and women who died. The findings, however, indicate that the death rate appears to be rising.

According to CDC researchers, “the number of deaths recorded with gabapentin identified during the second quarter of 2020 roughly doubled compared to the first quarter of 2019.” “By the first quarter of 2019, 49.4% of deaths where gabapentin was found were gabapentin-related; this figure rose to 55.1 percent during the fourth quarter of 2020.

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Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization, requested that the FDA classify gabapentin as a schedule V prohibited substance earlier this year, citing the possibility of abuse, addiction, overdose, and fatalities.

Federal health regulators issued a warning in 2019 that combining opioids with gabapentin medications, such as Neurontin, or other medications used to treat nerve diseases could result in hazardous breathing issues that could cause hospitalization or even death.

Pregabalin, a medication that has been listed as a schedule V prohibited substance since 2005, and the naturally occurring neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) share structural similarities with gabapentin.

As of November 2020, 12 states require prescription monitoring, and seven states have classified gabapentin as a schedule V substance. Pregabalin and gabapentin have both been designated as restricted substances in the UK since 2019.

from lawyers.buzz https://lawyers.buzz/cdc-warns-that-anti-epileptic-drug-gabapentin-linked-to-overdose/
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