The FDA is warning that certain nerve drugs can cause dangerous breathing problems when taken with opioids.
. The breathing risks also apply to elderly patients and those with existing lung problems.
The medications, known generically as gabapentin and pregabalin, are among the most prescribed in the U.S. Both physician prescribing and misuse have increased as doctors, hospitals and other health care providers have scaled back their use of opioids amid a national epidemic. Poison control centers have reported increased calls involving the nerve drugs, which are often abused in combination with opioids, cocaine and marijuana. Neurontin and related generics have long been considered nonaddictive and are not tracked as closely by regulators., doctors frequently prescribe them for those uses and others, including treatment of migraines and psychiatric conditions.
The FDA also said it will require drugmakers to conduct new studies of the abuse risks of the drugs, especially in combination with opioids. The agency said it received nearly 50 reports of breathing problems linked to gabapentin and pregabalin between 2012 and 2017, including 12 deaths. While drugmakers are required to report problems to the FDA, it's voluntary for doctors and patients.
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