25
Views
5
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Review

Antiepileptic drugs in the treatment of neuropathic pain

Pages 199-206 | Published online: 10 Jan 2014
 

Abstract

Antiepileptic drugs were initially designed to treat epileptic seizures, but are increasingly used in the treatment of neuropathic pain. Efficacy of the newer antiepileptic drugs has been confirmed in placebo-controlled studies for trigeminal neuralgia, postherpetic neuralgia, painful polyneuropathy and central poststroke pain. While standard antiepileptic drugs act as sodium channel blockers, the newer antiepileptics display additional mechanisms of action, including a potentiation of GABAergic inhibition, specific binding on a subtype of calcium channels, a reduced release of glutamate and a blockade of AMPA/kainate receptors. These mechanisms could account for their antiallodynic and antihyperalgesic effects demonstrated in animal models of neuropathic pain and also suggested for gabapentin and lamotrigine in humans. Additional studies are required to compare efficacy of newer versus standard antiepileptic drugs and to better define their place in comparison with other analgesics in the treatment of neuropathic pain.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.