Clinical Trial: Drug Treatment for Pathologic Gambling Disorder

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: Naltrexone Treatment in Pathologic Gambling Disorder

Brief Summary: This study will establish the best dose of the drug naltrexone to treat patients with Pathological Gambling Disorder (PGD) and severe urge symptoms.

Detailed Summary:

PGD is a prominent and growing social problem. Unfortunately, there is no established drug treatment for this disorder. Preliminary investigations demonstrate that naltrexone in doses up to 250 mg/day is well tolerated and safe during an 11-week period and may be a viable treatment option for PGD patients with severe urges. The implications of this study extend from PGD to other impulse control disorders, including compulsive shopping, kleptomania, and possibly alcoholism.

Participants are randomly assigned to receive either naltrexone or placebo for 16 weeks. The responses of men and women are compared to determine whether efficacy is distributed in a male:female ratio analogous to that of the PGD population in the United States. A Clinical Global Impression and a Gambling Symptom Scale are used to assess participants.

Sponsor: University of Chicago

Current Primary Outcome:

Original Primary Outcome:

Current Secondary Outcome:

Original Secondary Outcome:

Information By: University of Chicago

Dates:
Date Received: February 4, 2003
Date Started: December 2002
Date Completion:
Last Updated: August 21, 2014
Last Verified: August 2014