Learn about the common side effects of gabapentin in elderly patients, including dizziness, fatigue, cognitive impairment, and more. Explore the connection between gabapentin and depression, mechanisms behind gabapentin-related depression, and strategies to manage and mitigate side effects. And since treatment options for dementia are limited, prevention is key. Dementia risk is tied to common things like diabetes, high blood pressure, and physical inactivity. But some common medications are associated with dementia risk, too. Here are four common drug classes linked to dementia, and what the research says about your risk. 1. There’s mounting evidence supporting a connection between certain medications (anticholinergics and benzodiazepines) and dementia. An expert discusses the latest research and what to do if you Gabapentin was first approved by the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1993 to treat partial seizures and additionally approved for postherpetic neuralgia in 2004 (Pfizer, 2017). By 2018, gabapentin was the 6 th most prescribed medication in the US market (IQVIA Institute for human data science, 2019). 3. How does gabapentin affect the kidneys in elderly people? Gabapentin is cleared from the body by the kidneys. With age-related decline in kidney function, the medication can accumulate, increasing the risk of side effects and further stressing the kidneys. This may necessitate a lower dose or even avoidance of gabapentin in elderly individuals. Optimizing Gabapentin Use In Elderly Patients. As we age, our bodies process medications differently, making it crucial to tailor treatment approaches for older adults. Optimizing gabapentin use in elderly patients involves careful consideration of dosing strategies, monitoring of kidney function, and exploring alternative or complementary The authors describe the use of gabapentin in the treatment of 4 outpatients with dementia-associated agitation. On the basis of clinical case reports and the Overt Agitation Severity Scale, all 4 patients had reduced agitation with gabapentin. Gabapentin use was significantly associated with decline in cognitive and functional status among older adults with initially normal cognition. Further studies are needed to examine the association. We present the case of a patient with incipient vascular dementia accompanied by nocturnal agitation, which was successfully treated with gabapentin. Gabapentin appears to be useful and well-tolerated in this indication. Especially in older adults, gabapentin is prescribed to treat behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) (Kim et al., 2008). Several studies have reported that gabapentin has a deleterious effect on cognition (Leach et al., 1997; Meador et al., 1999; Shem et al., 2018). The prevalence of gabapentin use increased from 2006 to 2019, both in overall population and within every subgroup (i.e., cognitive status, age group, and sex). About 10–30% of gabapentin users reported to concurrently use gabapentin with opioids. Over one-half of gabapentin users with dementia concurrently used gabapentin with antidepressants. Moreover, dementia risk increased along with the cumulative dose. Taking an anticholinergic for the equivalent of three years or more was associated with a 54% higher dementia risk than taking the same dose for three months or less. The University of Washington study is the first to include nonprescription drugs. But a new study finds that 1 in 7 people with dementia who live outside nursing homes are taking at least three of these drugs. Even if they received the drugs to calm some of dementia’s more troubling behavioral issues, the researchers say, taking them in combination could accelerate their loss of memory and thinking ability, and raise their Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to investigate the associations between exposure to gabapentin or pregabalin and the quartiles of cDDDs of gabapentin or pregabalin exposure and the risk of dementia, adjusting other potential confounders and estimating the hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The evidence of gabapentin and dementia is mixed, with two studies looking at hundreds of thousands of people and coming to completely different conclusions. Gabapentin has been administered to several geriatric patients with bipolar disorder and patients with dementia. It has also been reported to be successful in the treatment of a 13-year-old boy with behavioural dyscontrol, a finding that suggested a possible role for gabapentin in the treatment of other behavioural disorders. Gabapentin has been increasingly prescribed to older adults for off-label indications, and accumulating evidence suggests potential for gabapentin misuse and related adverse events. However, the relation between gabapentin initiation and longer-term neurocognitive changes is not well understood. AD, VaD, dementia of traumatic brain injury, anoxic brain damage dementia, dementia NOS, alcoholic dementia, Parkinson's dementia: Gabapentin: 1318 mg day −1 average (300–3600 mg day −1) OASa, OASSYb, CMAIc, CGI-Id: 5-very much improved 12- much Improved 4-Minimally Improved 1-Unchanged 2-Dropout: Excessive sedation, 2: 4: Herrmann et al Overall, the risk of being hospitalized with altered mental status after initiating gabapentin remains low, but may be reduced through the judicious use of gabapentin, use of the lowest dose to control pain, and vigilance for early signs of altered mental status. Rising global dementia prevalence is drawing attention to chronic pain as a potential risk factor often managed by gabapentin. Taiwanese health insurance database spanning 2000-2019 assessed dementia risk in gabapentin-using chronic pain. The study showed that gabapentin use not linked to higher dementia risk.
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