A new study revealed that taking the pain reliever Tramadol with some antidepressants may increase the risk of epileptic seizures in older people.
The study was conducted by researchers from Ohio State University and the University of Florida in the United States.
The results of the study were published on October 8 in the Journal of Neurology, the medical journal affiliated with the American Academy of Neurology, and the EurekAlert website wrote about it.
Tramadol is an opioid analgesic used to treat moderate to severe pain in adults.
Some antidepressants, such as fluoxetine, paroxetine, and bupropion, inhibit the enzyme cytochrome 2D6 (CYP2D6), which is responsible for metabolizing tramadol, which may cause interference with the mechanism by which the body metabolizes tramadol.
The painkiller may not be metabolized properly and may accumulate in the body, which may increase the risk of side effects such as epileptic seizures.
A slight but measurable increase
Researchers analyzed 10 years of US Medicare data to identify 70,000 nursing home residents, ages 65 and older, who were prescribed both tramadol and an antidepressant.
To ensure that there were no differences caused by other health problems, the researchers adjusted for other factors that might affect the results of the analysis.
People taking tramadol with cytochrome 2D6 inhibitors were up to 9% more likely to have seizures than people taking tramadol and antidepressants that do not inhibit the enzyme.
“We found a small, but measurable, increase in the risk of seizures when tramadol was taken with antidepressants that inhibit the enzyme cytochrome 2D6,” said study co-author Dr. Yu Jung Jenny Wei from Ohio State University.
“This risk was consistent whether treatment with an antidepressant or tramadol was started first,” she added.