NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Topical gabapentin is a well tolerated, effective treatment for relieving the pain of localized and generalized vulvodynia, according to a report in the September issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

“Unlike any single modality currently used to treat vulvodynia, topical gabapentin, as demonstrated in the present study, has the potential to simultaneously alleviate the pain associated with this disorder (and improve sexual function in those with localized vulvodynia), while maintaining high patient acceptability and tolerability,” conclude Dr. Lori Boardman, from the Women and Infants’ Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, and colleagues.

The results come from a retrospective study of 19 patients with generalized vulvodynia and 32 with localized symptoms who were treated with 2% to 6% gabapentin between January 2001 and December 2006.

Thirty-five women had evaluable responses before and after therapy, the report indicates. In these women, treatment with gabapentin for at least 8 weeks reduced the average visual analog pain score from 7.26 to 2.49. Twenty-eight of the women (80%) achieved an improvement of 50% or greater.

Of the 20 women with localized vulvodynia who had evaluable results, 17 had improved sexual function following gabapentin therapy — 6 of the 17 women reinstituted vaginal intercourse and 11 had an increase in intercourse frequency.

Seven of 50 evaluable patients discontinued therapy — three due to local irritation and four because of urinary complaints, the authors note. These side effects ceased upon drug discontinuation.

In light of these encouraging results, the researchers call for a randomized clinical trial to address the safety and efficacy of gabapentin for vulvodynia.

Reference:
Obstet Gynecol 2008;112:579-585.