Low Dose Pregabalin Improves Gastrointestinal Symptoms of Crohn’s Disease

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, are lifelong conditions with no definite cure. Several studies demonstrated that patients with IBD more frequently experience symptoms of common mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression, because of bidirectional communication through the gut-brain axis and the chronicity of symptoms, as well as because of impaired quality of life and reduced social functioning. However, psychological conditions of affected patients are often underestimated and not fully considered. Herein, we present the case of a 37-year-old woman with Crohn’s disease and a mild depressive condition, characterized by anxious distress, tachycardia, tachypnea, tremors, sweating, avoidant behaviors, and intestinal somatizations (diarrhea), who was treated with Pregabalin upon indication of the referring psychiatrist. Following the beginning of the treatment, the patient rapidly reported an improvement in the overall clinical symptoms as well as a better management of psychic and physical anxiety with a marked reduction in diarrheal discharges under stress at work. After 6 months of Pregabalin therapy, we additionally observed an improvement in Crohn’s disease activity, both clinically, in the laboratory, and endoscopically. Our case showed that patients with Crohn’s disease and anxiety problems may benefit from low-dose Pregabalin medication to improve both their mental and physical condition.