Mexiletine for painful alcoholic neuropathy.

Five patients suffering from painful alcoholic neuropathy showed severe painful sensory disturbance in their extremities. Although their pain was not ameliorated by the typical usual analgesic agents, oral mexiletine (MX) therapy was remarkably effective for the pain (especially tingling and aching sensation) without major side effects. This study indicated that the minimum effective dose was 300 mg per day and the effective concentration of MX in plasma was 0.66 +/- 0.15 micrograms/ml in these patients. Thus, oral MX therapy can be a reliable treatment for pain in alcoholic neuropathy.