The Effects of Lamotrigine on Pain, Sleep, and Mood in Refractory Form of Central Post-Stroke Pain Syndrome

Abstract

Background: Central post-stroke pain (CPSP) is a distressingpain syndrome, sometimes become refractory to the conventionalpain managements. Anticonvulsants have been used toalleviate different central pains. Lamotrigine is a novel anticonvulsantand its proper dosage and its efficacy have notbeen well studied yet. The aim of this study was to evaluatethe effect of 100 mg lamotrigine on refractory form of CPSP.Methods: The medical files of 17 patients with CPSP who hadnot responded to the other drugs and were treated with lamotriginewere studied. Using Brief Pain Inventory, pain, sleepand mood were assessed before, and after 8 and 24 weeks oftreatment.Results: After 24 weeks, 70.5 % of the patients responded tolamotrigine, and there was an improvement of 2.41 in themean score of average pain (P=0.001).Conclusion: Lamotrigine 100 mg daily was effective in thetreatment of refractory CPSP, and might be prescribed beforeplanning for more aggressive surgical managements.Iran J Med Sci 2010; 35(4): 299-303.

Keywords

• Pain
• lamotrigine
• sleep disturbance
• mood disorder