Central Arkansas Advanced Nerve & Joint Ctr LLC

01/10/2026

01/04/2026

GABAPENTIN WARNING
In case you missed the 12/24/2025 Wall Street Journal article, here is a summary.

The Wall Street Journal article, “The Hidden Risks of America’s Most Popular Prescription Painkiller,” explores the unintended consequences of the medical community’s pivot away from opioids toward gabapentin (Neurontin). What was once viewed as a “benign” alternative has emerged as a significant public health concern.

Summary of Core Risks

The investigation identifies four primary pillars of concern regarding the drug's widespread use:

• The "Off-Label" Epidemic: While FDA-approved only for epilepsy and shingles pain, the drug is prescribed "off-label" for nearly everything - back pain, anxiety, insomnia, peripheral neuropathy - despite a lack of clinical evidence for these uses.
• The Dependency Myth: Contrary to early marketing, the drug can cause physical dependence. Patients often experience severe withdrawal symptoms, including nausea, tremors, and "rebound" anxiety.
• The Opioid Multiplier: Gabapentin is a respiratory depressant. When taken alongside opioids, it significantly increases the risk of a fatal overdose, a trend appearing frequently in recent toxicology reports.
• Regulatory Blind Spots: Because it is not federally classified as a controlled substance, its distribution is not as strictly tracked as traditional painkillers, allowing it to become one of the most prescribed drugs in the U.S.

The Connection to Dementia and Cognitive Decline

A major focus of the article is the drug’s impact on the aging brain, which can often be mistaken for permanent neurological disease.

• "Pseudodementia": In elderly patients, gabapentin can cause profound confusion, memory lapses, and "brain fog." These side effects are frequently so severe that families and doctors mistake them for the onset of Alzheimer’s or dementia.
• Cognitive "Dullness": The drug slows the central nervous system. In older adults, whose kidneys process the drug more slowly, gabapentin can accumulate to toxic levels, leading to a state of mental cloudiness often referred to as "gabapentin head."
• Physical Frailty: The drug increases dizziness and loss of coordination. The WSJ links this to a higher incidence of falls and hip fractures, which are often the primary drivers of a "downward spiral" in independence for seniors.
Key Takeaway: The article suggests that in the rush to solve the opioid crisis, physicians may have inadvertently exposed a vulnerable aging population to a drug that mimics or accelerates the symptoms of cognitive decline.

09/24/2025

09/24/2025

The Vine THV11

09/24/2025

https://www.thv11.com/video/entertainment/television/programs/the-vine/experience-relief-from-neuropathy/91-e0c992e6-2c9e-46e1-b278-4c1989c9d717

Dr. Helms with Central Arkansas Advanced Nerve and Joint tells us how they are helping experience relief.

06/05/2025

https://katv.com/community/good-morning-arkansas/understanding-neuropathy-with-the-central-arkansas-advanced-nerve-joint-center-06-03-2025?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwKt1ClleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHhOMRBlBwYa8a9TO5jhLpLoXXAG1UvJIHf1j7GgmyBlAcaaLdQGQ21nqAUFJ_aem_RBscCVyzovJmK0uFysuRQA

KATV ABC 7 in Little Rock, Arkansas covers news, sports, weather and the local community in the city and the surrounding area, including Hot Springs, Conway, Pine Bluff, Jacksonville, Sherwood, Stuttgart, Benton, Bauxite, East End, Scott, Pinnacle, Maumelle, Gibson, Landmark and Hensley.

01/30/2025

https://katv.com/community/good-morning-arkansas/central-arkansas-advanced-nerve-joint-continues-to-educate-us-on-neuropathy #

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — For more information, click here.

01/30/2025

Meet Braden Rowland! This is a wonderful young man that came to us after a severe motor vehicle accident with severe spinal cord damage causing severe loss of balance electric shocks, burning, numbness, tingling and loss of all hope. This young man put in the time and effort doing all that we asked and today he has no more symptoms, has full function of his legs and balance restored. He went from 89% loss of nerve function to complete recovery. Don’t tell him there is no hope for recovery from neuropathy!

01/29/2025

Meet Reba Pearson! She has suffered with neuropathy for over 10 years which caused her burning, electric shocks, stabbing pain and just all out pain 24 hrs a day. She came to us with 78% nerve damage in October and now in January has no pain and has 13% sensory loss. Her doctors told her there was nothing that could be done but just filled her full of Lyrica and Cymbalta. There is help! You do not need to live this way!