A new study released by Dr. Jon E. Grant of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and his colleagues has found that the urge to gamble was decreased in pathological gamblers who were treated with naltrexone.
Naltrexone, a drug frequently used in the treatment of alcohol and drug dependence, was found to help control the urge to gamble in nearly 40% of pathological gamblers receiving the treatment. Gamblers were able to abstain from all gambling for a period of at least one month. Those receiving a placebo had an abstention rate of 10.5%.
The study randomly assigned a daily dose of naltrexone to 58 men and women aged between 14 and 59 and a placebo to another 19 participants for a period of 18 weeks. The study found that not only were gambling urges significantly decreased but that lower doses of the drug were equally as effective.
Studies have also found that naltrexone relieves symptoms of Crohn's disease. It is also used to treat drug and alcohol dependence and sexual dysfunction. It has also been studied and found to increase smoking cessation in 50% of women but was not successful as a treatment for men.
[Source:MedLinePlus]
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