Prevalent pain medication linked to 40% increase in dementia risk

 A commonly prescribed drug used to treat nerve issues after shingles, restless legs syndrome and epilepsy has come under recent intense scrutiny. Gabapentin has been used widely across the world to tackle a host of pain related issues in the body but it hasn’t ever been a stranger to side-effects.

From drowsiness, dizziness, nausea and headaches, many have worked through its side effects to benefit from the pain relief provided. Yet a recent study out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, USA, has found links between prescription doses and “increased incidence of dementia”. Not only did the study find a correlation between doses of Gabapentin in patients and increased likelihood of dementia but “mild cognitive impairment” was seen in the study results as well.

The study data was sizable and lengthy. With over twenty years of data, medical researchers closely monitored and studied 26,416 patients being treated for chronic low back pain with a gabapentin prescription, as well as the same number of patients who had not received a gabapentin prescription.

Starkly, the study authors note, “Patients with six or more gabapentin prescriptions had an increased incidence of dementia… mild cognitive impairment”. That being an increased likelihood of 29% for 6 prescriptions and 85% for those with more.

The study results highlighted that the impact on cognitive impairment and dementia likelihood was not limited by youth. The authors state, “When stratified by age, non-elderly adults (18-64) prescribed gabapentin had over twice the risk of dementia […] and mild cognitive impairment […] compared to those not prescribed gabapentin.”

With the ongoing opioid crises being felt around the world, gabapentin has been looked to as a safer alternative, with its relatively lower addictive capacity. With this particular benefit behind it, the drug has become increasingly used globally, pointedly for neuropathic pain as some academics have linked it to providing neuroprotective benefits.Yet with increased studies from different scientific approaches, researchers like those in Ohio have raised the concern of gabapentin correlating to neurodegeneration. While this study was a retroactive one, data studied drawn from data of 68 health care organisations across the U.S, the researchers closely assessed the records of all patients who had and hadn’t received gabapentin prescriptions for chronic back pain, with demographics, use of other analgesic drugs and co-existing conditions input into the findings.

These findings showed that regardless of age, a deeply concerning trend of impact was the amount of prescriptions received by a patient. “Risk increased further with prescription frequency: patients with 12 or more prescriptions had a higher incidence of dementia […] and mild cognitive impairment […] than those prescribed gabapentin 3-11 times.”

For any persons currently on gabapentin, or with a recent prescription to start receiving the drug, the study authors advise both patients and doctors alike, “Gabapentin prescription in adults with chronic low back pain is associated with increased risk of dementia and cognitive impairment, particularly in non-elderly adults. Physicians should monitor cognitive outcomes in patients prescribed gabapentin.”

While the study is categorised as an “observational study” by the scientific and academic community and in consequence, firm conclusions are dissuaded from being drawn, the initial results point to the need of critical further study.

With an organised and extensive study, patients and particular dose amounts, and length of gabapentin can be further scrutinised and clear information provided ahead of continued treatment. Former, current and potential patients alike would greatly benefit from this further findings and insight.