Background: The need for effective treatment for pathological gambling is urgent. The majority of treatment studies and available treatments today are based upon cognitive-behavioural therapy. Recently, however, several studies investigating the effects of pharmacological interventions have been published. We conducted a review of these studies.
Material and methods: Studies for inclusion were identified through searches in PubMed covering the period 1950 to June 2005. A total of 12 studies were included.
Results: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and similar compounds were associated with improvement in two out of five placebo-controlled studies and in two out of three studies with a pre-post design. Opioid antagonists were associated with improvement in one placebo-controlled study and in one study with a pre-post design. Mood stabilisers gave improvement in the one placebo-controlled study as well as in both studies with a pre-post design.
Interpretation: Pharmacotherapy may yield beneficial effects in the treatment of pathological gamblers. Still, more well-controlled studies with control of comorbid psychiatric conditions are needed.