Brivaracetam for spinal cord injury-related neuropathic pain: results of a pilot double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Assess feasibility, safety, and tolerability of 3 months of oral brivaracetam for severe (9-10/10) spinal cord injury-related neuropathic pain.

Methods

We conducted a multisite pilot study where adults were randomized to 3 months of brivaracetam (100 mg BID) or placebo. Pain was assessed via the Brief Pain Inventory, the International Spinal Cord Injury Pain Basic Dataset (version 2.0), and a daily pain diary.

Results

We enrolled 24 participants across 2 sites and 14 participants were included in the final analysis (n = 8 placebo, n = 6 brivaracetam). The drug was tolerated with expected, nonserious side effects (nausea if taken on an empty stomach, fatigue that improved after 2-3 days). Side effects were more common in the brivaracetam group (73%, n = 8 vs

SUBMITTER: Morse LR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12173286 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature