Pregabalin is a prescription medication used in the treatment of neuropathic pain, epilepsy, generalized anxiety, and depression, among other health problems. Now, new research published in the British newspaper The Sunday Times has set off all the alarms in Europe by linking its use to almost 3,400 deaths in the last five years.
This drug, which works by mimicking gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) – the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian nervous system – has been administered to millions of people to date, and is now under scrutiny for its possible adverse effects and its potential to generate addiction and abuse of this substance.
Pregabalin is the name of the active substance, which is marketed under names such as Alzain, Axalid and Lyrica, and is usually prescribed for the treatment of neuropathic pain, such as migraine and sciatic nerve pain, as well as to manage epilepsy. , anxiety and nervous ailments associated with diseases such as diabetes or shingles.
According to the British newspaper’s investigation, in the last five years in Great Britain there were almost 3,400 deaths related to pregabalin, 779 of them in 2022 alone, compared to 9 deaths a decade earlier. These figures have highlighted the potential dangers of this widely prescribed drug.
Concern over the abuse of this medication has also been increasing, leading the UK Government to modify its legal classification in 2019. This is due to the possibility of users developing dependence, which is characterized by actively seeking the medication. , increasing doses and tolerance.
As noted by Euronews Health, “While it is beneficial for treating certain conditions, some people become addicted to the euphoric or relaxed state that pregabalin can induce, quickly building tolerance before needing higher doses to achieve the same sensation. For others, the side effects have been debilitating, but the withdrawals are worse, leading to a dependency that impedes quality of life.”
Combining alcohol with pregabalin: a very dangerous cocktail
The immediate side effects of pregabalin, including drowsiness, sedation, and respiratory depression, can be especially dangerous when combined with alcohol or opioids. Other reported adverse effects are headaches, diarrhea, mood changes, nausea, edema in the extremities, blurred vision, erectile dysfunction, memory problems and weight gain, according to information provided by the Spanish Association of Medicines and Products Sanitary (AEMPS).
A study highlighted in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology in 2023 revealed that between 2021 and 2022 alone, pregabalin prescriptions in the United Kingdom totaled eight million. In Spain, sales reached approximately one million boxes per month in 2022, which represents an increase of 50% compared to the previous four years.
Although the British National Health Service (NHS) has noted that the side effects of pregabalin are usually mild and temporary, it has also highlighted the existence of some epidemiological studies and reports on the addiction potential of pregabalin that suggest that withdrawal of pregabalin is similar to that of morphine.
