MIDAS Project Publication Abstracts
Zimmerman, M. Breen, R.B., & Posternak, M.A. An open label study of
citaloprim in the treatment of pathological gambling. Journal of
Clinical Psychiatry, in press.
Background: This study evaluated the effectiveness of
citalopram in the treatment of pathological gambling. Method:
Fifteen adult pathological gamblers were administered citalopram in an
open-label fashion for up to 12 weeks. Subjects were rated at baseline and
at two-week intervals on measures of gambling severity and depression, and
monthly on quality of life. Results: Patients reported
significant improvements on all the gambling measures including the number
of days gambled, the amount of money lost gambling, preoccupation with
gambling and urges to gamble. Thirteen (86.7%) of the patients were rated
as "much improved" or "very much improved" on a
clinician-rated CGI for gambling. Patients reported improvement in
depression and overall quality of life. Patients with major depressive
disorder (MDD) improved to approximately the same degree as patients
without MDD. For most patients, clinical improvement occurred during the
first two weeks of treatment; for the nine patients who completed the
entire 12-week trial, these gains were maintained. Conclusion:
Citalopram appears to be an effective treatment for PG, and this benefit
was independent of its antidepressant properties. Future studies employing
a control group will be important to examine the extent of the response to
nonspecific factors of treatment.
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