Lacosamide for the treatment of diabetic neuropathic pain.

Lacosamide is a novel chemical entity with anticonvulsant and analgesic properties that is being developed to treat epilepsy and neuropathic pain conditions. Lacosamide has shown efficacy in many animal models of chronic pain and in several short- and long-term Phase II/III clinical trials in humans with diabetic neuropathic pain. The mechanism of action of lacosamide differs from other drugs used to treat neuropathic pain in that it selectively enhances sodium channel slow inactivation without affecting fast inactivation, and may modulate collapsin-response mediator protein 2. The pharmacokinetic properties of lacosamide include a fast rate of absorption, little or no interaction with cytochrome P450 isoenzymes, limited effect of age and gender on plasma levels and low potential for drug-drug interactions.