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Epilepsy drug could help with insomnia
04 Aug 2008
An epilepsy drug could be of benefit to people suffering from insomnia, a new study has suggested.
Published in the August issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, the investigation by researchers from the University of Michigan found that people suffering from alcoholism are often likely to suffer from a lack of sleep.
However, the study suggests that the doctors of people with the condition are unlikely to prescribe them medication for insomnia as most sleeping pills can be habit-forming or can have adverse effects on the liver.
As such, the drug gabapentin, which is often used to treat epilepsy, could be of benefit due to the fact that it is not habit-forming and is not processed by the liver.
The researchers write: "A possible explanation of these new findings is that the gabapentin might decrease the insomnia initially and the patient may not need or crave alcohol as a treatment for the insomnia."
Meanwhile, a study published by the American Academy of Neurology recently found that taking the epilepsy drug topiramate during pregnancy could increase the risk of birth defects.
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