Naltrexone for gambling problems

It is estimated that between 1 and 3% of the population has a gambling problem. The principal treatments for gambling problems are usually psychological but a new study by researchers at the University of Minnesota has found that a drug usually used to treat alcoholism can also help gamblers. The study, of people between the ages of 18 and 75 who gambled between six and thirty-two hours a week, compared the drug naltrexone to a placebo. By the end of the 18-week trial 40% of those taking naltrexone had quit gambling for at least a month, compared to only 10% of those taking the placebo. Naltrexone had few side effects and was equally effective in men and women.

You can find out more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/06/16/alcoholism-drug-helps-pathological-gamblers/2464.html