10/11/2001
Anti-gambling drug being tested
For millions, gambling is a healthy pursuit offering escapist excitement and a momentary rush.
But for eight million Americans, gambling is compulsive.
Those who turn online sports books or casinos, into uncontrollable gambling, can seek help through behavior-based approaches like Gamblers Anonymous or psychotherapy.
But such solutions only work for about half of participants, in large part because problem gambling is poorly researched and misunderstood.
With unregulated gambling outlets mushrooming all over the Internet, the potential for addiction is on the rise.
The National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago reports 15 million people are at risk of becoming problem gamblers.
Homes, retirement savings and even lives are at stake, say doctors.
And those who need help may be served well by medicine.
A Minnesota study aims to find out. It's betting on a pill to control compulsive gambling.
Most doctors view gambling as a behavior problem, not a mental health issue. But some gambling addicts may need more than a 12-step program.
Naltrexone, the drug being studied, blocks the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain's pleasure center.
It's already been used successfully for treating heroine addiction and alcoholism and may work with compulsive betting, says Suck Won Kim, MD of the University of Minnesota Medical School.
"It works by blocking urges, in this case, to gamble," says Kim. "Because the people who gamble are going after excitement and pleasure and reward, we are very much interested in that part of the brain, and in the medication working in that part of the brain."
So far, results indicate the drug may prove effective with this and other vices. "In selected urges such as gambling, compulsive shopping, and compulsive stealing, we found the drug working very well," explains Kim.
Source: Healthsurfing.com
I JUST FOUND IT INTERESTING.
Anti-gambling drug being tested
For millions, gambling is a healthy pursuit offering escapist excitement and a momentary rush.
But for eight million Americans, gambling is compulsive.
Those who turn online sports books or casinos, into uncontrollable gambling, can seek help through behavior-based approaches like Gamblers Anonymous or psychotherapy.
But such solutions only work for about half of participants, in large part because problem gambling is poorly researched and misunderstood.
With unregulated gambling outlets mushrooming all over the Internet, the potential for addiction is on the rise.
The National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago reports 15 million people are at risk of becoming problem gamblers.
Homes, retirement savings and even lives are at stake, say doctors.
And those who need help may be served well by medicine.
A Minnesota study aims to find out. It's betting on a pill to control compulsive gambling.
Most doctors view gambling as a behavior problem, not a mental health issue. But some gambling addicts may need more than a 12-step program.
Naltrexone, the drug being studied, blocks the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain's pleasure center.
It's already been used successfully for treating heroine addiction and alcoholism and may work with compulsive betting, says Suck Won Kim, MD of the University of Minnesota Medical School.
"It works by blocking urges, in this case, to gamble," says Kim. "Because the people who gamble are going after excitement and pleasure and reward, we are very much interested in that part of the brain, and in the medication working in that part of the brain."
So far, results indicate the drug may prove effective with this and other vices. "In selected urges such as gambling, compulsive shopping, and compulsive stealing, we found the drug working very well," explains Kim.
Source: Healthsurfing.com
I JUST FOUND IT INTERESTING.
