Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management

Neurological Adverse Drug Reactions and Clinical Risk

Neurological adverse drug reactions (ADRs) represent a broad group of drug-related effects involving the central and peripheral nervous systems. These reactions range from symptoms such as headache, dizziness, and somnolence to more severe manifestations, including cognitive impairment, seizures, and peripheral neuropathy. As pharmacotherapy continues to expand across multiple therapeutic areas, the burden of neurological ADRs is increasing in parallel, particularly in vulnerable populations such as older adults and patients with comorbidities. Despite their frequency and impact, neurological ADRs are often under-recognized, misattributed to underlying disease, or insufficiently characterized in clinical trials. Moreover, the heterogeneity of clinical presentations and the complexity of neuropharmacological mechanisms make these reactions particularly challenging to identify, classify, and manage.

Understanding neurological ADRs is critical for clinical practice and drug development. These reactions are major contributors to reduced treatment adherence, therapy discontinuation, and decreased quality of life, ultimately affecting the effectiveness of pharmacological interventions. From a clinical perspective, early recognition and appropriate management of neurological ADRs can reduce patient risk and healthcare burden. From a scientific standpoint, ADRs provide valuable insights into drug mechanisms and neurobiological pathways, functioning as “natural experiments” in humans. Improved characterization of these reactions can therefore support more precise risk stratification, inform safer prescribing practices, and guide the development of targeted therapies with improved tolerability profiles.

This Article Collection aims to gather high-quality contributions addressing the clinical and translational aspects of neurological adverse drug reactions. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, drug-induced headache, dizziness and vertigo, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbances, peripheral neuropathy, and seizure-related events. Submissions exploring underlying mechanisms as well as studies on risk factors, pharmacovigilance and strategies for prevention and management are particularly encouraged. Both common and rare ADRs across different drug classes are within scope. We welcome a range of article types, including original research articles, systematic reviews, and scoping reviews. Methodological papers are also of interest.