Acamprosate in the Treatment of Pathological Gambling

University of Iowa

Status and phase

Completed

Phase 4

Conditions

Pathological Gambling

Treatments

Drug: acamprosate

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Industry

Identifiers

NCT00571103

200608747

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to see whether acamprosate (Campral) will curb the desire to gamble in people with pathological gambling disorder.

Full description

Because the opiate antagonists appear to be effective in the treatment of pathological gambling (PG), it is reasonable to ask whether acamprosate (calcium acetylhomotaurine; Campral), also FDA approved for the treatment of alcoholism, can be used effectively to treat PG. Acamprosate is not an opioid antagonist; rather, it is assumed that its therapeutic effects are due to actions on GABA receptors. Acamprosate is structurally related to 1-glutamic, which is an excitatory neurotransmitter. It has been proposed that acamprosate decreases the effects of the naturally-occuring excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate in the body. Because chronic alcohol consumption disrupts this system, and the changes last many months after alcohol ingestion is stopped, it is possible that acamprosate restores the glutamate system towards normal. Regardless, acamprosate decreases the pleasant "high" associated with alcohol consumption, and thus decreases the frequency of relapse during abstinence. We hypothesize that acamprosate will have similar actions in persons with PG.

Enrollment

26 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 75 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Patients will meet DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 4th Edition) criteria for Pathological Gambling Disorder
Patients will achieve a SOGS (South Oaks Gambling Screen) score greater than or equal to 5
Patients will be 18 years old or older
Patients will speak standard English
Patients will be able to give written Informed Consent
Patients will be able to understand and cooperate with study procedures

Exclusion criteria

Patients having a current (past 3 months) substance use disorder (except dependence)
Patients having a Hamilton Depression Rating score of greater than or equal to 18 or a score on #1 (depressed mood) greater than 1.
Patients having a clinically significant medical illness
Patients at risk for aggressive or suicidal behavior
Patients who have received the following interventions within the proscribed time prior to study entry: 1) a monoamine oxidase inhibitor within the previous 21 days; 2) long-acting phenothiazines within the previous 3 months; 3) other psychotropic drugs within the previous 14 days; 4) flu- oxetine within the previous 4 weeks.
Patients having severe antisocial or borderline personality disorder
Patients with a past or current diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, or delirium, dementia, or other clinically significant cognitive disorder.
Patients initiating individual, group, or couple psychotherapy during the three moths prior to study entry (excluding Gambler's Anonymous)
Patients having prior exposure to acamprosate