These researchers compared the efficacy and tolerability of gabapentin
and nortriptyline in the treatment of PHN. The study was a randomized,
double-blind, parallel-group trial that lasted 9 weeks. Adult PHN patients
with a history of more than 8 weeks of pain after healing of the rash,
a pain intensity of at least 40 mm on a 100 mm visual analog scale (VAS)
at screening and at randomization, and an average pain score of at least
4 on a Likert-type scale during the baseline week were included in the
study. Gabapentin and nortriptyline were given in increasing doses at
biweekly intervals until a maximum tolerated dose was obtained. The
investigators measured efficacy by the change in pain score from baseline
to the end of the study. The average pain scores (N=70) were significantly
lower at the end of study in both the treatment groups--with 47.6% reduction
in the nortriptyline group and 42.8% in the gabapentin group. Patients
showed significant improvement in sleep scores in both treatment groups--nortriptyline
(46.0%) and gabapentin (52.0%). Gabapentin was better tolerated by patients
compared to nortriptyline. The investigators conclude that gabapentin
was equally as effective but better tolerated than nortriptyline and
can be a suitable alternative for the treating PHN. Chandra K, Shafiq
N, Pandhi P, Gupta S, Malhotra S. Adapted from Int J Clin Pharmacol
Ther. 2006 Aug;44(8):358-63.
PMID 16961166
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed
Credit: PubMed, developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information
(NCBI) at the National
Library of Medicine (NLM).
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