Reviewing Treatments for Cocaine Consume Problems: The Gabapentinoid Alternative

Abstract

Background: Cocaine use disorder is a worldwide problem. Presently, however, no adequate treatments exist. Gabapentin has been explored recently as an alternative for treating different substance use disorders, including cocaine. Methods: The aim of the present paper is to assess the effectiveness of gabapentin for treating cocaine use disorders. For this purpose, a systematic review of the literature was performed using the publication database, PubMed, with search limits from January 1, 1983 to February 28, 2018. The search terms used were combined as follows: “gabapentin” AND “cocaine”. Initially, 41 articles were identified, with additional 23 articles identified through reference exploration or web search. These 23 complementary articles relate mainly to the general description of gabapentin and discussion. After the analysis of the titles and abstracts, 18 references were removed, resulting in 46 articles for further analysis. Results and Discussion: Gabapentin is inadequate for treating cocaine dependence and relapse, and alleviating the subjective effects of cocaine. More research is necessary for exploring gabapentin alleviation of cocaine intoxication, and further investigation is required for confirming the gabapentin’s utility for treating cocaine addiction.