Common pelvic pain drug is ineffective, NIHR research finds

A drug regularly used to treat chronic pelvic pain in women has been found to be no more effective than a placebo, NIHR-funded research found.

As a result of the GaPP2 trial, researchers recommend against routinely prescribing the drug gabapentin for women with the condition.  

Chronic pelvic pain affects up to 24% of women worldwide, including up to one million in the UK. In 55% of women there is no known cause. If no underlying cause is found, the pain is much more difficult to treat.

The trial, led by the University of Edinburgh, involved 306 participants, including 13 at Milton Keynes University Hospital, three at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital and three at Aylesbury’s Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

Read more on the NIHR website.