Topiramate on Gambling-Related Behaviours

Summary

The quest for an effective medication therapy for problem gambling remains an important priority for the problem gambling treatment research field. While several medications have been evaluated in controlled clinical trials, no medication has been shown to unequivocally reduce gambling behaviour and, to date, no medication has been approved for treating this disorder. Recently, topiramate, indicated for the treatment of seizure disorders, has shown some promise as a medication therapy for problem gambling. In this project, the efficacy of topiramate will be evaluated in a placebo-controlled clinical trial, the first study to do so. The interaction of the effects of the medication and gambling sub-type will be examined to determine whether the efficacy of topiramate is correlated with the specific biopsychosocial history of the gambler.

Timeline

Start

2006-09

Primary completion

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Completion

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Publications

• Background Grant JE, Kim SW, Potenza MN. Advances in the pharmacological treatment of pathological gambling. J Gambl Stud. 2003 Spring;19(1):85-109. doi: 10.1023/a:1021227214142.
• Background Johnson BA, Ait-Daoud N, Akhtar FZ, Ma JZ. Oral topiramate reduces the consequences of drinking and improves the quality of life of alcohol-dependent individuals: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004 Sep;61(9):905-12. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.61.9.905.
• Background Dannon PN, Lowengrub K, Gonopolski Y, Musin E, Kotler M. Topiramate versus fluvoxamine in the treatment of pathological gambling: a randomized, blind-rater comparison study. Clin Neuropharmacol. 2005 Jan-Feb;28(1):6-10. doi: 10.1097/01.wnf.0000152623.46474.07.
• Background Arnone D. Review of the use of Topiramate for treatment of psychiatric disorders. Ann Gen Psychiatry. 2005 Feb 16;4(1):5. doi: 10.1186/1744-859X-4-5.
• Background Dannon PN. Topiramate for the treatment of kleptomania: a case series and review of the literature. Clin Neuropharmacol. 2003 Jan-Feb;26(1):1-4. doi: 10.1097/00002826-200301000-00001.
• Background Blaszczynski A, Nower L. A pathways model of problem and pathological gambling. Addiction. 2002 May;97(5):487-99. doi: 10.1046/j.1360-0443.2002.00015.x.
• Background Steel Z, Blaszczynski A. Impulsivity, personality disorders and pathological gambling severity. Addiction. 1998 Jun;93(6):895-905. doi: 10.1046/j.1360-0443.1998.93689511.x.
• Background Petry NM, Steinberg KL; Women's Problem Gambling Research Center. Childhood maltreatment in male and female treatment-seeking pathological gamblers. Psychol Addict Behav. 2005 Jun;19(2):226-9. doi: 10.1037/0893-164X.19.2.226.
• Background Berlant JL. Prospective open-label study of add-on and monotherapy topiramate in civilians with chronic nonhallucinatory posttraumatic stress disorder. BMC Psychiatry. 2004 Aug 18;4:24. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-4-24.

Drugs

Indications