Old, new post-shingles medication work

LONDON, Jul 26, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A review of the treatments used in treating post-shingles pain concludes older treatments are just as effective as newer ones.

The review showed long-established treatments such as tricyclic antidepressants and some opioids are as effective as newer drugs such as gabapentin, tramadol, and pregabalin, and supports the use of tricyclic antidepressants as first-line treatment.

Researchers led by Andrew Rice at Imperial College London also found topical treatments such as lidocaine and capsaicin worked in some patients.

Post herpetic neuralgia -- the pain that persists after shingles -- is one of a group of chronic pain conditions collectively called "neuropathic pain" and is one of the most frequent diseases used to test new neuropathic pain therapies in clinical trials.

The fact that some treatments only worked in selected patients highlights the variety of mechanisms that can cause pain in different patients with post herpetic neuralgia.

Researchers say in the future, before prescribing treatments, physicians might be able to assess the underlying mechanism of each individual patient's pain and then tailor treatments accordingly.

The study appears in PLoS Medicine, a journal of the Public Library of Science.