Gabitril Side Effects

Gabitril Package Bottle 10mg Anticonvulsant

Serious Adverse Side Effects

Dermatological side effects such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a deadly allergic skin reaction to the drug
Neurological side effects such as seizures in patients without epilepsy and status epilepticus, a disorder in which the brain is in permanent seizure
Psychiatric side effects such as suicidal thoughts
Other side effects such as overdose and death

Common Adverse Side Effects

Dermatological side effects such as itching
Gastrointestinal side effects such as abdominal pain and nausea
Neurological side effects such as weakness, lack of coordination, confusion, disturbance in speech, dizziness, anxiety, insomnia, drowsiness, tremor and inability to concentrate
Respiratory side effects such as inflammation of the throat

Warnings & Recalls for Gabitril

Contraindications

The only known contraindication of Gabitril | Tiagabine is a hypersensitivity to its active component of Tiagabine.

Precautions

The following patients must exercise caution while taking Gabitril | Tiagabine:

Patients taking this drug must be cautious while operating a vehicle or machinery
There must be gradual withdrawal from this drug
Patients with EEG dysfunctions
Patients with a history of liver disease
Patients with a history of suicidal thoughts are advised to abstain from this drug

Pregnancy Warning

Gabitril | Tiagabine has been given a pregnancy category rating of “C” by the FDA, entailing although it doesn’t pose that much of a risk to the fetus or the expecting mother, it should probably be avoided at all costs during pregnancy.

Gabitril Treatment and Use

Gabitril | Tiagabine is an anticonvulsant prescription produced by the drug company Cephalon. The drug was originally manufactured by Novo Nordisk in the nation of Denmark in 1988 by a team of pharmacologists and chemists. The drug Tiagabine was developed with the drug company Abbott, in a 40:60 ratio cost sharing deal with Abbott paying premiums for licensing the drug from Novo Nordisk. After a period of cooperation, the drug is now exclusively licensed, manufactured and marketed by Cephalon currently.

The official FDA-labeled indications for Gabitril | Tiagabine is for seizure. Other non-FDA labeled indications for this drug are for generalized anxiety disorder and spasticity.

How This Drug Works

Gabitril | Tiagabine is an antiepileptic agent which is thought to enhance the activities of inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) by blocking this acid’s uptake into presynaptic neurons. This activity in turn provides more GABA to bind to receptors on post-synaptic cells.

Dosage Information

The safety and the efficacy of using Gabitril | Tiagabine on pediatric patients under the age of 12 has as of yet not been established. Gabitril | Tiagabine is taken orally and should always be taken with food.

In pediatric patients from the ages of 12-18, Gabitril | Tiagabine should be initiated at 4mg once daily. The total dose of this drug in these patients can be increased by 4mg at the 2^nd week of taking this medication. The maximum daily dose on such patients should not exceed 32mg/day given up to 2-4 times daily.
In adult patients, Gabitril | Tiagabine should be initiated at 4mg once daily and daily doses can be increased by 4-8mg at weekly intervals until the maximum dosage of 56mg/day is achieved given in divided doses of 2-4 times daily.