Effects of gabapentin, pregabalin and gastroretentive gabapentin on simulated driving, daytime sedation and cognition.

AIM: Randomized Phase I study examining the effects of gabapentinoids gabapentin, pregabalin and gastroretentive gabapentin on simulated driving performance, sedation and cognitive function in healthy volunteers (n = 32).

METHODS

Driving attentiveness, sleepiness and cognition were evaluated prior to subjects receiving study doses. Blood samples were collected during each treatment.

RESULTS

Subjects receiving gastroretentive gabapentin showed less change in variation in lateral lane position (p = 0.0275), less tremor (p = 0.0304) and fewer vision disturbances compared with gabapentin (p = 0.0177). Statistically significant decrease in One Card Learning Test performance was observed after treatment with gastroretentive gabapentin.

CONCLUSION

Gastroretentive gabapentin demonstrated reduced driving impairment and lower scores on key neurotoxicity measures. Further studies in patients with postherpetic neuralgia are needed. Clinical trial number: NCT03179345.