Short-Term Single-Blind Fluvoxamine Treatment of Pathological Gambling

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 compl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of psychiatry 1998-12, Vol.155 (12), p.1781-1783
Main Authors: Hollander, Eric, DeCaria, Concetta M., Mari, Eduardo, Wong, Cheryl M., Mosovich, Serge, Grossman, Robert, Begaz, Tomer
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Behavior disorders
Biological and medical sciences
Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders - drug therapy
Drug Administration Schedule
Drug therapy
Female
Fluvoxamine - therapeutic use
Gambling
Gambling - psychology
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Neuropharmacology
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Placebos
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Psychiatry
Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors - therapeutic use
Single-Blind Method
Treatment Outcome
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Summary: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. Am J Psychiatry 1998; 155: 1781-1783
ISSN:0002-953X
1535-7228
DOI:10.1176/ajp.155.12.1781