Gabapentin and posttraumatic stress disorder
1Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 3601 4th St., Lubbock, TX 79430-8103, USA. psychld@ttuhsc.edu
Objective:
To report the effects of gabapentin in a patient with concurrent depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and review the use of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in PTSD.
Case Summary:
A 37-year-old Latin American woman was being treated for major depression and PTSD. While the depressive symptoms were in remission, she reported a significant reduction in the frequency of her flashbacks after gabapentin was added to venlafaxine. She did not receive any type of psychotherapy. The flashbacks recurred after she discontinued gabapentin.
Discussion:
While the improvement reported by the patient may have been related to a placebo effect or spontaneous recovery, treatment with gabapentin may have played a role in alleviating the flashbacks. Other published reports suggest that AEDs have a beneficial effect on some PTSD symptoms.
Conclusions:
AEDs may be of some therapeutic value in patients with PTSD. Future controlled studies are warranted to investigate the effectiveness of these agents.
