title: Gabapentin's anti-nausea and anti-emetic effects: a review.
abstract: Gabapentin's main clinical use is in the treatment of neuropathic pain where its binding to neuronal alpha-2/delta subunits of voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) is critical to its mechanism of action. Over the past 10 years, there have been several reports of gabapentin also having anti-nausea and anti-emetic effects in conditions including postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV), and hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). In this report, a MEDLINE electronic search was performed, and relevant citations were reviewed and classified by level of evidence; a grade of recommendation was then assigned for gabapentin's use for each studied indication. Out of 33 clinical trials reviewed, 12 assessed nausea and/or vomiting (N/V) associated with gabapentin therapy as primary outcome measures. These 12 studies provided a Grade A recommendation for gabapentin use in treating PONV, a Grade B recommendation for use in treating CINV, and a Grade C recommendation for use in treating HG. Further research is needed to confirm these initial promising results, which implicate the alpha-2/delta VGCC subunit as a novel therapeutic target in the treatment of several N/V-associated clinical conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, 97 Farber Hall, Buffalo, NY, 14214-8024, USA, tguttuso@buffalo.edu.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Guttuso
mesh_terms: D000588:Amines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000818:Animals; D000932:Antiemetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003509:Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077206:Gabapentin; D006801:Humans; D016239:MEDLINE / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009325:Nausea / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014839:Vomiting / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000588:Amines; D000932:Antiemetics; D003509:Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D000077206:Gabapentin