Medication May Prove Effective Treatment Method for Pathological Gamblers

For those individuals who struggle with a gambling problem, medication may provide some relief. According to researchers at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), medication could be used to decrease urges and increase inhibitions for pathological gamblers.

Science Daily recently posted a release that summarized the activities of Dr. Jon Grant and his team of researchers at the University of Minnesota. This team used tasks to measure cognition to identify what motivates such extreme gambling behaviors.

One truth identified in this process is that people with a pathological gambling disorder will continue their behavior even when faced with damaging consequences to themselves and to their families.

In focusing on urge and inhibition, researchers studied pathological gamblers by separating them into two groups: those driven by urge and those who do not display normal inhibition of impulse behaviors. The first group responded well to treatment with medications that block the brain opioid system. The second group responded well to medications that act on a specific enzyme.

“By understanding these different subtypes, we are able to target the core biology of the illness with individualized treatment,” said Jon Grant, MD, JD, MPH, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Minnesota and ACNP member. “When we look at pathological gambling as an addiction and try to understand the sense of urges and inhibitions, we are able to target the treatment with medication more effectively.”

Pathological gambling affects roughly two percent of the population. While the results of this study are exciting for those who truly want to change, there are still some who are unable to respond to medication therapy. Additional research is needed to identify the best treatments and understand how to progress forward.