Study Shows Neurontin Increases the Risk
of Suicide.
New research shows a link between
Neurontin and suicide and suicide attempts.
Over ten million people have been prescribed Neurontin since its
release in 1994. Recent independent research found that by
March 2004 over 100 people taking Neurontin committed suicide.
More than 2000 people attempted suicide in that same time frame. A
year later, the suicide rate jumped 150% - to 258 by March 2005.
The important point made is that all of the suicide cases found
were with off-label use.
The FDA originally approved this drug as a supplemental treatment
of epilepsy and the management of pain due to shingles. Since then
Neurontin has become popular for the treatment of many other
medical conditions including:
_ Psychiatric disorders
_ Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
_ Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)
_ Migraines
_ Lou Gehrig’s Disease
_ Drug and Alcohol Withdraw Seizures
_ Back Pain and,
_ Many Others
The problem is that the drug was never approved by the FDA for the
treatment of these other medical conditions. One of the most
popular “off-label” uses for this drug is the treatment of
multiple psychiatric conditions. Recent research has shown that
there might be a link between the usage of Neurontin and suicide
and suicide attempts.
Pfizer, the manufacturer of Neurontin, recently plead guilty to
illegally promoting Neurontin for “off-label” uses and was ordered
to pay over $430 million dollars. Although it is not illegal for a
physician to prescribe medications for “off-label” uses, it is
illegal for pharmaceutical companies to advertise the drug for any
other uses except those approved by the FDA.
Financially speaking Pfizer has made a lot of money from Neurontin
and its “off-label” prescriptions. Their revenue went from $97.5
million dollars in 1995 to $2.5 Billion dollars in 2003. It is
reported that between 80% - 90% of the revenue came from
“off-label” prescriptions.
If prescribed for “off-label” uses it could cause the very thing
that is was approved by the FDA to treat.
The FDA has given the manufacturers of Neurontin and the
manufacturers of other anticonvulsants 6 months to re-evaluate
their drug trial database and report back to the agency with their
findings. The FDA will review these findings before making a
decision on mandating a "black box" warning for this class of
drugs to let doctors and consumers know there is a link between
suicide and suicide attempts and Neurontin.
In addition to the increased suicide risk,
there are many other dangerous side effects attributed to the
“off-label” use of Neurontin. Some of the side effects are:
_ Memory Loss
_ Viral Infections
_ Convulsions
Consult your health care provider immediately if you experience
serious side effects while taking Neurontin. Since serious side
effects and withdraw symptoms have been associated with the sudden
discontinuance of Neurontin, stopping Neurontin should only be
done under the strict supervision of your health care provider.
There are healthful and effective ways of dealing with
Attention Deficit Disorder,
with
seizure disorders
and with
depression that do not include the use of high-powered medications.
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