Active clinical trials for "Gambling"

The purpose of the study is to evaluate a new form of counseling for pathological gambling and to see if the counseling is more effective than attending Gamblers Anonymous.

After completing all screening evaluations, subjects will receive unblinded N-Acetyl Cysteine 600 mg/day for 2 weeks. The dose will be raised to 1200 mg/day at visit 4 and to 1800 mg/day at visit 6 unless clinical improvement has been attained at a lower dose (clinical improvement will be assessed by the investigator with respect to gambling thoughts, urges and behavior). If it is clinically necessary to modify this schedule (e.g., because of side effects or an adequate response to a lower dose), the dose will be raised more slowly or the target dose will not be reached. Subjects will start no other psychotropic medications during the study but may continue on previously prescribed psychotropic medications if on a stable dose for 3 months prior to study entry. Psychotherapy of any form (including cognitive-behavioral therapy) will not be initiated during the study but subjects may continue with current psychotherapy if they have been undergoing therapy for at least three months prior to study entry. Subjects will be evaluated with the PG-YBOCS, G-SAS, CGI, HAM-D, HAM-A and the Sheehan Disability Inventory at screening and at each visit for the remainder of the study. Medication side effects will be evaluated at each study visit. A tablet count will be kept for each dose of medication taken.

This study will determine whether the drug bupropion is an effective treatment for Pathological Gambling.

The investigators conducted a double-blind randomised sham-controlled study. Upon enrollment into the study, participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (i) active group: anodal stimulation over the right dlPFC (n = 10) or (ii) sham stimulation group (n = 10). Participants and raters were blinded to the condition. Subsequently, the participants were administered the IGT and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test by a trained neuropsychologist in a quiet laboratory. A computerized version of standard IGT was used. The order of the tasks performed in a single session was randomised. After the psychiatric and neurocognitive assessment, participants received three sessions of 20-minute active or sham anodal tDCS (once a day, every other day). Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and a modified version of Iowa Gambling Test were readministered after the last application. The order of the tasks was randomized again. A brief questionnaire on study blinding was also administered. Safety was assessed through open-ended questions based on the tDCS adverse events questionnaire

The aim of this study is to conduct a trial to investigate the efficacy of adding Contingency Management (CM) to Treatment as Usual (TAU) for the treatment of Disordered Gambling. Results from this experiment will provide the first evidence of the additional efficacy of best-practice CM and whether it can be easily integrated into a clinical environment. Additionally, this study will correlate clinical outcomes with psychological measures and participant responses to develop new predictive treatment outcome measures.

This project evaluates the efficacy of brief interventions for individuals seeking treatment for substance use disorders who also have gambling problems. In total, 220 problem gambling substance abusers will be randomized to one of three conditions: (a) a control condition consisting of 10 minutes of psychoeducation about gambling, (b) 10 minutes of brief advice about problem gambling and how to reduce it, or (c) four session of motivational and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Gambling, substance use and psychosocial problems will be assessed using standardized instruments at pre-treatment, month 2, 5, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24-month follow-up evaluations.

The goal of the proposed study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the drug memantine in individuals with pathological gambling (PG). Thirty subjects with DSM-IV PG will receive 10 weeks of open-label treatment with memantine. The hypothesis to be tested is that memantine will be effective and well tolerated in patients with PG. We hypothesize that memantine will reduce the severity of gambling symptoms and improve patients' overall functioning. This study will provide needed data on the treatment of a disabling disorder that currently lacks a clearly effective treatment.

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

This study assessed whether naltrexone, an opioid antagonist, might be effective in reducing excessive gambling behavior in people who also drink heavily. The efficacy of naltrexone was evaluated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Fifty-two subjects who had significant problems with both gambling and alcohol received 11 weeks of either naltrexone or placebo.

The purpose of the study is to examine whether problem gamblers who receive therapy calls in addition to a self-help manual will be more likely to quit or cut back on their gambling when compared with problem gamblers who receive just the manual.