Gabapentin-Related Changes in Renal Function: Two Case Studies
| Title: | Gabapentin-Related Changes in Renal Function: Two Case Studies |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Silvia, Richard J.; Spitznas, Andrew L. |
| Publisher: | Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology |
| Date Published: | February 01, 2007 |
| Reference Number: | 717 |
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This translation by the NDI Foundation is to assist the lay reader. To provide a clear, accessible interpretation of the original article, we eliminated or simplified some technical detail and complicated scientific language. We concentrated our translation on those aspects of the article dealing directly with NDI. The NDI Foundation thanks the researchers for their work toward understanding and more effectively treating this disorder.
© Copyright NDI Foundation 2007 (JC)
Gabapentin is a drug originally used to help control partial seizures. Since then, it has been used to help nerve related pain. Gabapentin has also been used to treat bipolar disorder. In this paper, Silvia and Spitznas report on two patients, both of whom suffered from bipolar disorders and had been treated with lithium to help control their situations. The first patient was a 36-year old woman who had been using lithium for 25 years. The other patient was a 49-year old man who was maintained on lithium for 3 years. Both patients were on other medications as well and both showed evidence of kidney damage, such as rising serum creatinine levels. The woman patient also had lithium-induced NDI. Both were prescribed medications to help mitigate the symptoms on NDI.
In both cases, the patient’s use of lithium was discontinued, and instead they were prescribed gabapentin to help manage their bipolar disorders. Silvia and Spitznas observed that both patients showed a significant increase in their serum creatinine measurements after they started using gabapentin. These measures indicated a substantial loss to the patients’ kidney function within a relatively short period. However, the gabapentin seemed to be effective in managing the patients’ biplolar disorders, so they were kept on the medication.
Though the patients’ worsening kidney function after intake of gabapentin cannot be directly attributed to the drug, the authors feel it is an avenue of study worth pursuing. If, it is true that switching a patient from lithium to gabapentin may compromise a patient’s kidney function, then physicians should become aware of this. If use of gabapentin alone causes kidney damage, then it becomes even more important to know this because gabapentin is used to treat seizures and pain as well as bipolar disorders.