Drug Shows Promise To Help Gambling Addicts

The Hartford Courant reports:

A pill that blocks the overwhelming urge to gamble compulsively may offer fresh hope for millions of addicts, researchers say.

Nalmefene, a drug previously used for treating alcoholism, was effective in reducing pathological gambling among addicts, according to a new study. Researchers said it clearly establishes that compulsive gambling is an addiction that can be treated medically.


"The part of the brain that gets revved up when they have that urge to gamble, it quiets that down," said Jon E. Grant, a psychiatrist at the University of Minnesota and lead researcher for the study, which was supported by the drug's manufacturer, BioTie Therapies Corp., and included 207 people at 15 outpatient treatment centers.

No word yet on whether lottery officials in many states will be happy with this pill.