Effects of pregabalin on Japanese post-herpetic neuralgia patients

Abstract

Current information regarding the usage and effects of pregabalin in Japanese post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) patients is inadequate because the drug was only recently approved for use in Japan. We are now prescribing pregabalin based on a simple prescription protocol we made. In this study, we surveyed retrospectively the changes in pain scores and the occurrences of side effects resulting from pregabalin prescribed on the basis of our protocol. We studied patients who started to take pregabalin for PHN from August to November 2010. In 11 of those surveyed, the numerical scores of continuous pain before and after prescription were 3 [0-8] and 3[0-7], respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant. But pregabalin attenuated the pain scores significantly from 4[0-9] to 2[0-7] in paroxysmal pain. Our study suggests that pregabalin has analgesic effects on Japanese PHN patients, especially those in paroxysmal pain.