Neurontin & Bipolar Disorder

During the 1990s, Neurontin was the new breakthrough drug with physical and psychological benefits. Pfizer even claimed it to be worthy of subduing bipolar manias, agitation and psychosis in a large number of patients. However, as years went on and fewer and fewer people received the so-called benefits of Neurontin, investigations took place that put Pfizer and its miracle drug Neurontin in a precarious situation, which led to huge fines and loss of large usages and prescriptions of the drug.

Medical Use

• Neurontin is intended for the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia. Neuralgia is pain affecting nerves in the body. Usually, Neurontin subdues pain in nerves involved with the brain. Neurontin also counteracts epilepsy by slowing down the brain and the chemical surges within the brain that cause seizures. It is also used with headaches, renal impairment, shingles, pain problems, tremors, restless leg syndrome and hot flashes associated with menopause.

Psychiatric Use

• Neurontin is also being used in psychiatric uses as well, though its effects, especially the off-label treatments that are not approved by the FDA, are controversial. Neurontin is only officially approved by the FDA as an anti-convulsant. Since Neurontin slows activity in the brain, much like Xanax does by effecting GABA in the brain, it is used to treat anxiety, bipolar manias and depression. It should be noted that antiepileptic drugs like Neurontin are linked to increasing suicidal thoughts and behavior. It was also said to treat depersonalization, agitation and paranoia, which are symptoms related to psychosis and bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

Off-Label Uses

• Structurally, Neurontin is unrelated to any of the common mood stabilizers used to control bipolar disorder. When first released, Neurontin was pushed hard as a true cure for many psychiatric disorders, especially bipolar and schizophrenic disorders. Dosages needed to treat these disorders ascended into thousands of milligrams daily to be effective for some patients.

Controversy

• On May 14, 2004, the Associated Press broke the news that Pfizer, the company that developed Neurontin, pleaded guilty to charges that it illegally promoted uses of Neurontin for psychiatric disorders, specifically bipolar disorders, without the claims being proven and approved by the FDA. Pfizer had to pay $430 million in fines. Pfizer instructed doctors to endorse the medicine and conduct favorable studies on it, even though it was claimed to be less effective than a placebo in an unpublished study by Warner-Lambert, which was owned by Pfizer. Pfizer allegedly knowingly wrote up false information regarding Neurontin's many uses and circulated this information to doctors and health care facilities to push drug sales.

Conclusion

• Some drugs may have respectable and worth off-label effectiveness. However, knowingly endorsing a product that has no real effect on bipolar or any other psychiatric illness and its range of symptoms is a breach of FDA code of conduct.