OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to assess the efficacy and tolerability of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluvoxamine in the treatment of pathological gambling. METHOD:Sixteen patients with pathological gambling entered an 8-weekplacebo lead-in phase, and 10 of these patients completed an 8-week single-blind fluvoxamine trial. RESULTS:Seven of the 10 patients who completed the fluvoxamine trial were judged treatment responders at the end of the study: 1) they had greater than 25% decreases in their gambling behavior scores on the pathological gambling modification of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, and 2) their clinician-rated Clinical Global Impression scores for gambling severity were very much improved or much improved. Fluvoxamine treatment resulted in gambling abstinence in seven of the 10 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this preliminary study suggest that fluvoxamine may be effective in reducing the urge to gamble. Randomized placebo-controlled and maintenance trials are required to confirm these findings and to determine whether improvement persists.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to assess the efficacy and tolerability of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluvoxamine in the treatment of pathological gambling. METHOD: Sixteen patients with pathological gambling entered an 8-week placebo lead-in phase, and 10 of these patients completed an 8-week single-blind fluvoxamine trial. RESULTS: Seven of the 10 patients who completed the fluvoxamine trial were judged treatment responders at the end of the study: 1) they had greater than 25% decreases in their gambling behavior scores on the pathological gambling modification of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, and 2) their clinician-rated Clinical Global Impression scores for gambling severity were very much improved or much improved. Fluvoxamine treatment resulted in gambling abstinence in seven of the 10 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this preliminary study suggest that fluvoxamine may be effective in reducing the urge to gamble. Randomized placebo-controlled and maintenance trials are required to confirm these findings and to determine whether improvement persists.
Authors: Joseph Westermeyer; Jose Canive; Paul Thuras; Suk W Kim; Ross Crosby; James Thompson; Judith Garrard Journal: Community Ment Health J Date: 2006-08-09