| | |  | Last Updated: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 |  | | | No Magic Cure for Compulsive Gambling
- Friday, 16 Dec 2005
A while back ago we presented you with a new revolutionary way of treating people who suffer from a gambling addiction. The idea was that a gambling addiction can be treated like other forms of addiction such as drinking by taking a pill that suppresses the individuals desire to engage in this sort of activity. Obviously, this proposed treatment should be accompanied with psychotherapy sessions. Dr. Jon Grant, one of the leading experts in the field of drug and addiction research, recently interviewed on the subject of treat gambling problems using this unorthodox method.
In 2003, Grant performed one of the largest and most elaborate experiments in the field of compulsive gambling. The study included more than 200 patients gambling addicts that were treated in special clinics across the US. The study was testing the effects of two drugs called nalmefene and placebo. The patients that were given nalmefene proved to be successful in subduing the gambling cravings of patients after 16 weeks, while registering a vast improvement after 10 weeks of use in comparison to those taking placebo.
Even thought the pills have shown to have a positive effect on the gambling addicts participating in the experiment, Grant still feels that compulsive gambling is a complex disorder that cant be easily cured just with drugs. According to Grant, there should be additional research conducted in order to fully be able to cure a gambling problem. Grant explains, “Gambling is one manifestation of perhaps several underlying problems. We need to figure out how all these symptoms interact. If someone is suffering from depression and is gambling, do we fix one and then the other or do we fix both at the same time?” | |
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