A generally taken drug for lower back pain can increase the risk of developing dementia by a maximum of 40 percent, with regard to research suggests.
Gabapentin, sold as Neurontin, was approved in the early 1990s on the NHS to treat nerve pain and epilepsy.
But American researchers have discovered that the pill – which was taken three times a day three times a day – can increase the risk of developing memory overlay disorder by 29 percent in patients of each age who had prescribed it at least six times.
This risk rose to 40 percent among those who had prescribed it more than 12 times.
The team, from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, said that the findings suggested that patients prescribed Gabapentin should now be assessed on potential cognitive decline.
But they warned that the findings do not prove that taking the drug will cause dementia – really that it shows an association.
Experts nowadays also suggested that people with chronic pain that Gabapentin require, perhaps also have been less physically active, a well -known risk factor for developing dementia, so the drug cannot be fault.
The drug-made by pharmaceutical gigantic pfizer from COVID vaccine fame on gamma-aminoboteric acid (GABA), a chemical messenger in the brain that functions as a brake on nerve cells transferred.
Gabapentin, sold as Neurontin, was approved on the NHS in the early 1990s to treat nerve pain and epilepsy
The last NHS -data shows that 799,155 patients were prescribed in England in 2023/24, somewhat down on his peak of 926,071 in 2022/23.
Figures suggest that more than 8 million Gabapentin recipes are issued in the US every year.
In the study, researchers assessed the health files of more than 26,000 Americans who were prescribed Gabapentin for chronic low pain between 2004 and 2024.
They discovered that those who had received six or more Gabapentin recipes were 29 percent more likely to be diagnosed with dementia and 85 percent more likely to be diagnosed with mild cognitive disorders (MCI) within 10 years after their pain diagnosis.
MCI can sometimes be a precursor to a diagnosis of dementia.
Although there was no increased risk for 18-to-34 year olds who prescribed the medicine, the risk of dementia was more than doubled and MCI was more than tripled at 35-49 years old, prescribed it.
Patients who received 12 or more regulations were an even greater risk, the scientists thought.
These patients were 40 percent more likely to develop dementia and 65 percent more likely to develop MCI than prescribed Gabapentin between 3 and 11 times.
The medicine, made by pharmaceutical gigantic pfizer, works on gamma-aminoboteric acid (GABA), a chemical messenger in the brain that works like a brake on nerve cells transferred
It is currently thought that around 900,000 British have the memory robber disorder. But the scientists from the University College London estimate that this will rise to 1.7 million within two decades, because people live longer. It marks an increase of 40 percent on the previous prediction in 2017
Writing in the diary Regional anesthesia and pain medicineThey said: ‘Our findings indicate a connection between Gabapentin recipe and dementia or cognitive impairment within 10 years.
They added: “Our results support the need for close monitoring of adult patients who have prescribed Gabapentin to assess potential cognitive decline.”
However, independent experts today insisted on caution for the findings.
They emphasized the potential mechanism of how the medicine could influence, remained unclear.
Dr. Leah Mursaleen, head of clinical research on Alzheimer’s research, said that although the study had some strengths, such as a major sample size, there were limitations.
“This study only shows a connection between Gabapentin recipes and mild cognitive disorders or dementia, so we don’t know if the medication immediately causes the higher risk,” she said.
‘Gabapentin dose was not registered and there was no information about how long people had the medication.
‘Because this study only used health files from people with chronic pain, we cannot exclude other factors that can influence the findings.
‘And earlier studies that watched people prescribed Gabapentin for other disorders such as attacks showed no connection between the medication and a higher risk of dementia.
She added that everyone who is worried about their medication must speak with his doctor.
Professor Tara Spires-Jones, director of the Center for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh and group leader at the UK Dementia Research Institute, also said: ‘A very important factor that was not investigated in this study is levels of physical activity.
“People with chronic pain required gabapentin may have been less physically active, which is a well -known risk factor for developing dementia.”
Official data that is seen by MailOnline show that five British – or their families or doctors – have linked to take Gabapentin to an Alzheimer or Dementia diagnosis.
Such reports, submitted to the regulatory body of medicines and health care, do not prove that the medicine was responsible and perhaps just a coincidence.
It comes when a milestone study suggested last year that almost half of all cases of Alzheimer’s could be prevented by tackling 14 childhood lifestyle factors.
World-competition experts found two new risk factors-high cholesterol and suffering loss of eyesight combined, almost one in ten dementia cases worldwide.
They join 12 existing factors, ranging from genetics to smoking status, which experts have identified as increasing the risk that a person would suffer from dementia.
Experts claimed that the study, published in the prestigious magazine The Lancet, delivered more hope than ‘ever before’ that the memory-robbing condition that can be tackled the lives of millions.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and affects 982,000 people in the UK.
Memory problems, thinking and reasoning problems and language problems are common early symptoms of the condition, which then worsen over time.
Alzheimer UK analysis of Alzheimer’s UK research showed that 74,261 people died of dementia in 2022 compared to 69.178 a year earlier, making it the biggest murderer in the country.
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