AMELIORATION OF GABAPENTIN-RESISTANT NECK RADICULOPATHY PAIN WITH S. AROMATICUM & A. COMOSUS WATER DECOCTIONS – A CASE REPORT AND MINI LITERATURE REVIEW

Background: Gabapentin is listed as a first liner for neuropathic pain. However, the drug is subject to frequent discontinuation on account of therapeutic ineffectiveness and/or severe/intolerable adverse drug reactions. This study is a report on a 50-plus years postmenopausal woman with acute-on-chronic cervical radiculopathy pain.

Methodology: Oral and written narrations obtained from the client were captured into this report. Internet literature search was undertaken using relevant search terms related to gabapentin, gabapentinoids, neuropathy, analgesia, phytotherapy, etc. Abstracts of peer-reviewed manuscripts were perused and those found relevant were included in the final writeup.

Results: A full case report was obtained and transcribed largely unedited. 127 peer-reviewed journal articles were selected from over 2000 publications initially included in our search. Abstracts of these were read through, their conclusions extracted and included in the final writeup.

Discussion/Conclusion: Gabapentin was discontinued in this client due to its failure to relieve the pain and its severity of adverse drug reactions. Evidence indicates discontinuation is frequent with gabapentin. Administration of combined water decoctions of Sizygium aromaticum (S. aromaticum) flower and Ananas comosus (A. comosus) peel/crown extracts ameliorated the cervical pain and restored client’s function within days. Healing has been sustained for months now, without significant adverse effects so far – despite use of the herbal decoctions once in while. The observed analgesic/anti-inflammatory efficacy of the herbal decoctions may be due to their multi-target therapeutic properties compared to gabapentin’s single-target action. There is a need to investigate the cost-effectiveness of continued use of gabapentin as analgesic agent, and to further research/develop S. aromaticum & A. comosus extracts for wider analgesic usage.