ReviewPain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain2023
Gabapentin-Friend or foe?
Review in Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06798662 (Multimodal Nerve Block and Pulse Radiofrequency for Acute Herpes Zoster Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 21 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Multimodal Nerve Block and Pulse Radiofrequency for Acute Herpes Zoster Pain: a Prospective, Randomized, Controlled, Triple-blind Trial
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review: The relationship between gabapentinoids, etizolam, and drug related deaths in Scotland.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Research trends and hotspots of neuropathic pain in neurodegenerative diseases: a bibliometric analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Pooled it
- Home-based high tone therapy may alleviate chemotherapy-induced neuropathic symptoms in patients with colorectal cancer: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled pilot evaluation.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Trial
- Voltage-gated sodium channels in the nervous system: Molecular physiology to therapeutic interventions.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- High Prevalence of Unhealthy Alcohol Use Among Persons with HIV, Viral Non-suppression and Any Alcohol Use in Mbarara, Uganda: A Brief Report.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Gabapentin Utilization and Adverse Effects Among US Hemodialysis Patients Diagnosed With Pruritus or Neuropathic Pain.Kidney medicine · 2026Article
- Efficacy of opioids in combination with gabapentin vs. opioids alone in the treatment of patients with cancer-related pain due to bone metastases from malignant neoplasms: A meta-analysis.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2026Article
- Insurance Noncoverage of Interventional Pain Procedures: Paving the Road Toward the Second Prescription Opioid Crisis.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Efficacy analysis of high-intensity laser therapy for post lumbar surgery syndrome.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Infrared Thermography and Physiological Variables as Methods for Recognizing Fear in Domestic Cats (Veterinary sciences · 2025Article
- Pharmacology and Mechanism of Action of Suzetrigine, a Potent and Selective NaPain and therapy · 2025Article
- Metabolomic analysis of rat arterial serum under hypobaric hypoxia: Adaptive regulation of physiological systems by metabolic reprogramming.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2025Article
- Biomarkers and Novel Therapies of Diabetic Neuropathy: An Updated Review.Current pharmaceutical biotechnology · 2025Review
- Erector spinae plane block for intractable, nonsurgical abdominal pain: a scoping review.Clinical and experimental emergency medicine · 2024Article
- A narrative review of the complex panorama regarding chronic neuropathic pain mainly for the psychological issues.Heliyon · 2024Review
- Recent advances in the understanding and management of chronic pancreatitis pain.Journal of pancreatology · 2024Review
- Enhancing analgesia in acute renal colic pain: a randomized controlled trial of gabapentin adjunct to ketorolac-based regimen.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Gabapentin: Clinical Use and Pharmacokinetics in Dogs, Cats, and Horses.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Review
- Principles of nociceptive coding in the anterior cingulate cortex.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGabapentin is a recommended first-line agent for treating neuropathic pain; however, its efficacy rate is reportedly low, and the risk of adverse events is high. A plausible explanation for this lies with its wide range of actions, the entirety of which have yet to be fully elucidated.
methodsA review of the literature was conducted on gabapentin's known and proposed analgesic mechanisms of action, as well as potentially opposing or detrimental actions.
resultsGabapentin's classical analgesic mechanisms involve direct attenuation of excitatory neurotransmission in the spinal cord via inhibition of neuronal ion channels, while indirect mechanisms include descending inhibition and block of injury-evoked synaptogenesis. Glial effects have also been reported; however, whether they are neuroprotective or detrimental is unknown. Furthermore, data from animal models do not reflect clinical outcomes.
conclusionsGabapentin's clinical use should be reconsidered according to the net effects of its numerous assumed actions, including the tripartite synapse and oligodendrocyte effects. Whether it is doing more harm than good, especially in the scenarios of incomplete or loss of response, warrants consideration when prescribing gabapentin.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.