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The current clinical knowledge on the treatment of gambling disorder: A summary
Author(s) -
Hloch Karel,
Mladěnka Přemysl,
Doseděl Martin,
Adriani Walter,
Zoratto Francesca
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
synapse
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.809
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1098-2396
pISSN - 0887-4476
DOI - 10.1002/syn.21976
Subject(s) - naltrexone , opioidergic , serotonergic , addiction , opioid antagonist , dopaminergic , glutamatergic , psychology , population , medicine , antagonist , neuroscience , pharmacology , psychiatry , glutamate receptor , (+) naloxone , serotonin , dopamine , receptor , environmental health
Gambling disorder (GD) is a topical problem in developed countries and may be present in 1–3% of the general population. The pathophysiology of this disorder is largely unknown but it shares similarities to other behavioral addictions. Multiple neurotransmitter systems, including dopaminergic, serotonergic, noradrenergic, glutamatergic, and opioidergic, have been implicated in GD. Based on available articles, only the opioid antagonist naltrexone has been documented to demonstrate clinical efficacy in multiple studies including double‐blind studies. Nalmefene, another opioid antagonist, may be active as well but its dose‐response effect remains unclear. Contrarily, current test results do not support the therapeutic use of any antidepressant drug. Some positive data has been made available supporting the use of N ‐acetylcystein, but more studies are needed to confirm this. No clear or definite information is currently available for other drugs.