FDA warns of breathing risks with popular nerve drugs The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is adding new warnings to prescription nerve medications used to treat seizures, nerve pain and other conditionsFILE - This Thursday, May 3, 2018 file photo shows bottles of gabapentin at a pharmacy in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) The Associated PressWASHINGTON -- U.S. health regulators are warning that popular nervous system medications can cause dangerous breathing problems when combined with opioids and certain other drugs. Poison control centers have reported increased calls involving the nerve drugs, which are often abused in combination with opioids, cocaine and marijuana. While the nerve drugs are not FDA-approved for conventional muscle and joint pain, doctors frequently prescribe them for those uses and others, including treatment of migraines and psychiatric conditions. The agency said it received nearly 50 reports of breathing problems linked to gabapentin and pregabalin between 2012 and 2017, including 12 deaths.

Source: ABC News December 19, 2019 20:50 UTC