Neurontin Law Firms > What is Neurontin?

Our Neurontin law firm realizes neurontin litigation is only a recent phenomenon. Since controversy surrounding the drug and its marketing has only recently become known to the public, a responsible Neurontin law firm makes every effort to contribute to advancing the public knowledge concerning the drug. The information below is provided to ensure those who visit this site come away with a detailed knowledge of the drug and its effects.

Gabapentin (the generic name for Neurontin) is an anticonvulsant medication indicated in the treatment of epilepsy and neuropathic pain. Gabapentin is known for having a relatively mild side-effect profile, and passes through the body unmetabolized.

In addition to its use in mood disorders, gabapentin was approved by the FDA for treating postherpetic neuralgia (neuropathic pain following shingles).

Gabapentin has also been used in the treatment of bipolar disorder. However, its off-label use for this purpose is increasingly controversial. Some claim gabapentin acts as a mood stabilizer and has the advantage of having fewer side-effects than more conventional bipolar drugs such as lithium and valproic acid. Some small, non-controlled studies in the 1990s, most sponsored by gabapentin's manufacturer, suggested that gabapentin treatment for bipolar disorder may be promising. However, more recently, several larger, controlled, and double-blind studies have found that gabapentin was no more effective than (and in one study, slightly less effective than) placebo, and the manufacturer has even halted its own studies regarding gabapentin and bipolar disorder. Despite this scientific evidence against the efficacy of gabapentin in the treatment of bipolar disorder, many psychiatrists continue to prescribe it for this purpose.