Baclofen in the Treatment of Neuralgia

Excerpt

Fromm and associates (1) have recently reported on the effectiveness of baclofen in treating patients with trigeminal neuralgia (tic douloureux). This study provides evidence of an important new therapy in a difficult clinical problem, and also shows several important principles of clinical pharmacology. (For further details see the abstract reprinted in the "From Other Pages" section this month.)

Carbamazepine, the current drug of choice for treating patients with trigeminal neuralgia, produces organ toxicity in 6% to 14% (rash, neutropenia, abnormal liver function tests) and tolerance in another 19% to 30% (2, 3). Phenytoin is less effective than carbamazepine in the