Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T08:33:05.009Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Pharmacologic Approaches in the Treatment of Pathological Gambling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Eric Hollander ,
Tomer Begaz  and
Concetta M. DeCaria
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Pathological gambling is an understudied disorder that causes significant distress to sufferers, their families, and society. Despite its prevalence among the general population, the impact of pathological gambling remains largely unrecognized by many health care providers. Although a discrete entity, pathological gambling shares salient characteristics with addiction and obsessive-compulsive disoders, and is comorbid with these and other conditions such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in a large number of cases. Recognizing these similarities has significant implications for treatment, as pharmacologic therapies used for these disorders, including serotonergic and mood-stabilizing agents, have shown some degree of efficacy in pathological gambling.

Type
Feature Articles
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 3 , Issue 6: Pathological Gambling , June 1998 , pp. 72 - 80
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Commission on the Review of the National Policy Toward Gambling. Gambling in America. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 1976.Google Scholar
2.Culleton, RP. A Survey of Pathological Gamblers in the State of Ohio. Philadelphia, Pa: Transition Planning Associates; 1985.Google Scholar
3.Volberg, RA. Estimating the prevalence of pathological gambling in the United States. Presented at the Eighth International Conference on Risk and Gambling; August 1990; London, England.Google Scholar
4.Volberg, RA, Steadman, HJ. Refining prevalence estimates of pathological gambling. Am J Psychiatry. 1988;145:502–505.Google ScholarPubMed
5.Volberg, RA, Steadman, HJ. Prevalence estimates of pathological gambling in New Jersey and Maryland. Am J Psychiatry. 1989;146:1618–1619.Google Scholar
6.Blakeslee, S. Suicide rate higher in three gambling cities, study says. New York Times. December 16, 1997.Google Scholar
7.Lesieur, HR. The female pathological gambler. In: Eadington, WR, ed. Gambling Studies and Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking. Reno, Nev: University of Nevada; 1988.Google Scholar
8.Dickerson, MG. Compulsive Gamblers. London, England: Longman; 1984.Google Scholar
9.Dickerson, M, Hinchy, J, Falve, J. Chasing, arousal and sensation seeking in off-course gamblers. Br J Addict. 1987;82:673–680.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Griffiths, MD. The acquisition, development, and maintenance of fruit machine gambling in adolescents. J Gambling Behav. 1990;6:193–204.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Jacobs, DF. Evidence for a common dissociative-like reaction among addicts. J Compuls Gambling Behav. 1988;4:27–37.Google Scholar
12.Wray, I, Dickerson, MG. Cessation of high frequency gambling and ‘withdrawal’ symptoms. Br J Addict. 1981;76:401–405.Google Scholar
13.Specker, SM, Carlson, GA, Christenson, GA, Marcotte, M. Impulse control disorders and attention deficit disorder in pathological gamblers. Ann Clin Psychiatry. 1995;7:175–179.Google Scholar
14.Hollander, E, Wong, CM. Body dysmorphic disorder, pathological gambling, and sexual compulsions. J Clin Psychiatry. 1995;56:7–12.Google Scholar
15.Ciarrocchi, J, Richardson, R. Profile of compulsive gamblers in treatment: update and comparisons. J Gambling Behav. 1989;5:53–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Linden, RD, Pope, HG, Jonas, JM. Pathological gambling and major affective disorder: preliminary findings. J Clin Psychiatry. 1986;47:201–203.Google Scholar
17.McCormick, RA, Russo, AM, Ramirez, LF, et al.Affective disorders among pathological gamblers seeking treatment. Am J Psychiatry. 1984;141:215–218.Google ScholarPubMed
18.Ramirez, LF, McCormick, RA, Russo, AM, Taber, JI. Patterns of substance abuse in pathological gamblers undergoing treatment. Addict Behav. 1983;8:425–428.Google Scholar
19.Lesieur, HR, Blume, SB. Characteristics of pathological gamblers among patients on a psychiatric admissions service. Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1990;41:1–12.Google Scholar
20.American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1994.Google Scholar
21.Linnoila, M, Virkkunen, M, Scheinin, M, Nuutila, A, Rimon, R, Goodwin, FK. Low cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid concentration differentiates impulsive from nonimpulsive violent behavior. Life Sci. 1983;33:2609–2614.Google Scholar
22.Brown, GL, Linnoila, M. CSF serotonin metabolite (5-HIAA) studies in depression, impulsivity, and violence. J Clin Psychiatry. 1990;(suppl 51):31–41, 42–43.Google Scholar
23.Moreno, I, Saiz-Ruiz, J, Lopez-Ibor, JJ. Serotonin and gambling dependence. Hum Psychopharmacol. 1991;6:S9–S12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24.DeCaria, CM, Hollander, E, Grossman, R, et al.Diagnosis, neurobiology and treatment of pathological gambling. J Clin Psychiatry. 1996;57:80–84.Google ScholarPubMed
25.Carrasco, JL, Saiz-Ruiz, J, Moreno, I, et al.Low platelet MAO activity in pathological gambling. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 1994;90:427–431.Google Scholar
26.Fuxe, K, Hokfelt, T, Ungerstedt, U. Morphological and functional aspects of central monoamine neurons. In: Pfeiffer, CC, Smythies, J, eds. International Review of Neurobiology. Vol 13. New York, NY: Academic Press, Inc; 1970:93–126.Google Scholar
27.Usdin, E, Smyder, S, eds. Frontiers in Catecholamine Research. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Press Inc; 1973.Google Scholar
28.Anderson, G, Brown, R. Real and laboratory gambling, sensation-seeking, and arousal. Br J Psychol. 1984;75:401–411.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
29.Boyd, W. Excitement: the gambler's drug. In: Eadington, WR, ed. Gambling and Society. Springfield, Ill: Charles C. Thomas Publisher; 1976.Google Scholar
30.Brown, R. Arousal and sensation-seeking components in the general explanation of gambling and gambling addictions. Int J Addict. 1986;21:1001–1016.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
31.Brown, R. Classical and operant paradigms in the management of gambling addictions. Behav Psychother. 1987;15:111–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32.Roy, A, Adinoff, B, Roehrich, L, et al.Pathological gambling: a psychobiological study. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1988;45:369–373.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
33.Roy, A, Adinoff, B, Linnoila, M. Acting out hostility in normal volunteers: negative correlation with levels of 5-HIAA in cerebrospinal fluid. Psychiatry Res. 1988;24:187–194.Google Scholar
34.Bergh, C, Eklund, T, Sodersten, P, Nordin, C. Altered dopamine function in pathological gambling. Psychol Med. 1997;27:473–475.Google Scholar
35.Blum, K, Braverman, ER, Wu, S, et al.Association of polymorphisms of dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2), and dopamine transporter (DAT1) genes with schizoid/ avoidant behaviors (SAB). Mol Psychiatry. 1997;2:239–246.Google Scholar
36.Comings, DE. The molecular genetics of pathological gambling. CNS Spectrums. 1998;3:20–37.Google Scholar
37.Perez de Castro, I, Ibanez, A, Torres, P, Saiz-Ruiz, J, Fernandez-Piqueras, J. Genetic association study between pathological gambling and a functional DNA polymorphism at the D4 receptor gene. Pharmacogenetics. 1997;7:345–348.Google Scholar
38.Hollander, E, Frenkel, M, DeCaria, C, Trungold, S, Stein, DJ. Treatment of pathological gambling with clomipramine. Am J Psychiatry. 1992;149:710–711.Google Scholar
39.Swedo, SE, Leonard, HL, Rapoport, JL, Lenane, MC, Goldberger, EL, Cheslow, DL. A double-blind comparison of clomipramine and desipramine in the treatment of trichotillomania. N Engl J Med. 1989;321:497–501.Google Scholar
40.Torres, AR, Cerqueira, AT. Exhibitionism treated with clomipramine. Am J Psychiatry. 1993;150:1274.Google Scholar
41.The Clomipramine Collaborative Study Group. Clomipramine in the treatment of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1991:48:730–738.Google Scholar
42.The Expert Consensus Panel for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. J Clin Psychiatry. 1997;58(suppl 4):2–72.Google Scholar
43.Black, DW. Compulsive buying: a review. J Clin Psychiatry. 1996;57:50–54.Google Scholar
44.Moskowitz, JA. Lithium and lady luck: use of lithium carbonate in compulsive gambling. NY State J Med. 1980;80:785–788.Google ScholarPubMed
45.Rocha, FL, Rocha, ME. Kleptomania, mood disorder and lithium. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 1992;50:543–546.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
46.Christenson, GA, Popkin, MK, Mackenzie, TB, Realmuto, GM. Lithium treatment of chronic hair pulling. J Clin Psychiatry. 1991;52:116–120.Google Scholar
47.Young, JL, Hillbrand, M. Carbamazepine lowers aggression: a review. Bull Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 1994;22:53–61.Google Scholar
48.de Dios Perrino, C, Santo-Domingo Carrasco, J, Lozano Suarez, M. Pharmacological treatment of the intermittent explosive disorder: report of three cases and literature review. Actas Luso Esp Neurol Psiquiatr Cienc Afines. 1995;23:74–77.Google ScholarPubMed
49.Cowdry, RW, Gardner, DL. Pharmacotherapy of borderline personality disorder: alprazolam, carbamazepine, trifluoperazine, and tranylcypromine. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1988;45:111–119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
50.Haller, R, Hinterhuber, H. Treatment of pathological gambling with carbamazepine. Pharmacopsychiatry. 1994;27:129.Google Scholar
51.Soubrie, P. Reconciling the role of central serotonin neurons in human and animal behavior. Behav Brain Sci. 1986;9:319–364.Google Scholar
52.Eichelman, B, Thoa, NB, Ng, KY. Facilitated aggression in the rat following 6-hydroxydopamine administration. Physiol Behav. 1972;8:1–3.Google Scholar
53.Thoa, NB, Eichelman, B, Richardson, JS, et al.6-Hydroxydopa depletion of brain norepinephrine and the function of aggressive behavior. Science. 1972:178:75–77.Google Scholar
54.Eichelman, B, Thoa, NB, Perez-Cruzet, J. Rubidium and cesium: effects on aggression, adrenal enzymes, and amine turnover. Fed Proc. 1972;31:289. Abstract 429.Google Scholar
55.Geyer, MA, Segal, DS. Shock-induced aggression: opposite effects of intraventricularly infused dopamine and norepinephrine. Behav Biol. 1974;10:99–104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
56.Petty, F, Davis, LL, Kabel, D, Kramer, GL. Serotonin dysfunction disorders: a behavioral neurochemistry perspective. J Clin Psychiatry. 1996;57:11–16.Google Scholar
57.Carlton, PL, Manowitz, P, McBride, H, Nora, R, Swartzburg, M, Goldstein, LJ. Attention deficit disorder and pathological gambling. Clin Psychiatry. 1987:48:487–488.Google ScholarPubMed
58.Marston, AR, Jacobs, DF, Singer, RD, Widaman, KF, Little, TD. Characteristics of adolescents at risk for compulsive overeating on a brief screening test. Adolescence. 1988;23:59–65.Google Scholar
59.Lesieur, HR, Blume, SB. Evaluation of patients treated for pathological gambling in a combined alcohol, substance abuse and pathological gambling treatment unit using the Addiction Severity Index. Br J Addict. 1991:86:1017–1028.Google Scholar
60.Lesieur, HR, Blume, SB, Zoppa, RM. Alcoholism, drug abuse, and gambling. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1986:10:33–38.Google Scholar
61.Feigelman, W, Kleinman, PH, Lesieur, HR, Millman, RB, Lesser, ML. Pathological gambling among methadone patients. Drug Alcohol Depend. 1995;39:75–81.Google Scholar
62.Silva, H. Trichotillomania: clinical case [in Spanish]. Rev Med Chil. 1997;125:457–459.Google Scholar
63.Casals-Ariet, C, Cullen, K. Exhibitionism treated with clomipramine. Am J Psychiatry. 1993;150:1273–1274.Google ScholarPubMed
64.Hollander, E, Benzaquen, S. Is there a distinct OCD spectrum? CNS Spectrums. 1996; 1:17–26.Google Scholar