Posted by Sean on October 29, 1999, at 15:23:46
In reply to Re: Neurontin Off Label Usage (T), posted by Noa on October 29, 1999, at 14:49:38
> There may never be any big controlled studies of Neurontin as a mood stabilizer, because 1)it is already on the market and has FDA approval, 2)there is anecdotal reporting of its effectiveness for this use, and 3) it sounds like it is relatively safe. So who would be motivated to put up the money for a big time study? (Usually the funds come from the pharmaceutical company, and it is seen as an investment to get the drug on the market in the first place). Problem: Some managed care insurance companies won't cover off label usage. AARRGGHH!!!! (sorry for the appended (E) in this generally (T) post).
I think there may be some better studies on this
med actually. When a drug becomes "indicated" the
sales for that med can increase greatly because
the med is now on the formulary for a particular
government or private provider.Also, I think that bipolar depression is getting
more play in research circles. It is more common
than schizophrenia, costs lots of lives each
year, and we have very few meds to treat it with
any kind of specificity. Good drugs for this
disease are very cost effective in terms of
the impact on society at large...Then again maybe I'm being too optimistic!
Sean.
poster:Sean
thread:14073
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991028/msgs/14175.html