"The question is whether gabapentin might be linked with or interfere with cognitive ability, especially in the developing fetus of a woman taking the drug to control epilepsy," Ergolu said. "But of course this needs to be balanced with the mother's need to prevent her from having seizures."

"Likewise, while it is rare that a young child is given gabapentin for seizures, I think scientists need to study whether this possibly could be linked with side effects of this drug in children such as hyperactivity, irritability and maybe even cognitive problems," she said.

Gabapentin may also be a boon for certain conditions that haven't yet been studied, she said. For example, in soldiers who have severe head wounds, many go on to develop epilepsy in the months after their injuries. "Maybe their injuries trigger the development of excess excitatory synaptic connections, and blocking or modulating this preemptively with gabapentin could help to prevent in this situation."

She said that understanding how the receptor works could also help patients who have neuropathic pain because of advanced diabetes or an injury.

"Neuropathic pain is not perceived by patients in the same way as other types of pain." Eroglu said. "Regular anti-analgesic drugs do not successfully ease this type of pain. Based on our findings it is possible that aberrant new synaptic connections that occur after injury contribute to neuropathic pain, and gabapentin might work by breaking this cycle of synapse formation."

Source: Duke University Medical Center