News Article On Neurontin Side Effects. Neurontin Suicide Link Neurontin (Generic: Gabapentin) may be linked to suicide and suicide attempts. Neurontin is prescribed for epilepsy but has been prescribed for numerous off label uses.
Neurontin was approved for sale in the mid-1990s as a treatment for epileptic seizures. However, it is believed that about 80% of all ‘Neurontin’ prescriptions are written for conditions other than what the drug was approved to treat.
Neurontin Off Label Prescriptions
It is believed that Parke-Davis, which was acquired by Pfizer in 2000, had a systematic strategy to market and promote ‘Neurontin’ for untested uses, such as chronic pain, bipolar disorder and migraines. It is not illegal for a doctor to prescribe a drug for conditions outside of those it was approved for, however it is illegal for a drug company to market a medication for off label uses. In July 2003, Dateline aired an investigation which accused Parke-Davis of deliberately falsifying medical information about ‘Neurontin’ so doctors would prescribe the drug off label to treat a multitude of conditions. State and Federal prosecutors have launched investigations into the allegedly illegal marketing of Neurontin. In its year-long investigation, Dateline interviewed a former Parke-Davis scientist who alleges company officials encouraged him to persuade physicians to prescribe ‘Neurontin’ for a number of disorders, including attention deficit disorder and bipolar disease, even though there was minimal preliminary data indicating that ‘Neurontin’ could help patients with those diseases.
In May 2003, The U.S. attorney’s office in Boston said in court documents that the drug company Parke-Davis, now Pfizer, gave illegal kickbacks to doctors, including trips to Puerto Rico and tickets to the 1996 Summer Olympics in exchange for prescribing the anticonvulsant ‘Neurontin’. Below is a list of the off-label conditions that ‘Neurontin’ was marketed to treat. These 11 uses were never submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval, yet illegally promoted. Listed Below:
- Bipolar Disorder
- Pain Syndromes, Peripheral Neuropathy, and Diabetic Neuropathy
- Treatment of Epilepsy alone (as monotherapy)
- Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD)
- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
- Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)
- Trigeminal Neuralgia
- Post-Hepatic Neuralgia (PHN)
- Essential Tremor Periodic Limb Movement
- Migraine
- Drug and Alcohol Withdrawal Seizures
Need Legal Help Regarding Neurontin Side Effects?
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