Increased Risk: Patients receiving six or more prescriptions of gabapentin for chronic back pain were 29% more likely to be diagnosed with dementia and 85% more likely to experience MCI.
Age and Dosage Factors: Non-elderly adults (18-64) showed more than twice the risk of cognitive decline compared to non-users. Higher frequency of prescriptions correlated with higher risk.
Mechanism: Long-term gabapentin treatment may impair learning and memory, with studies on mice showing it suppresses Sirt1 expression, which increases tau hyperphosphorylation (a feature of Alzheimer’s).
taking gabapentin?
