Australian doctors, in their attempt to include gambling addiction to the list of medical problems, have recommended tryouts of the drug Naltrexone for addictive gamblers. Scientists at the University of Melbourne will officially start testing the drug in a series of clinical experiments.
The current number of Australians battling gambling addiction has surpassed half a million people, with a general government treatments cost of AUD 4.7 billion a year.
Naltrexone, an opioid receptor antagonist able to suppress cravings of addictive behaviors, has been successfully used for alcohol and tobacco dependency treatment.
Nevertheless, the drug has also been used to treat some impulse control disorders. For example, in the year 2008 there were cases of successful suppression and treatment of internet pornography addiction with the use of Naltrexone.
Some tests of Naltrexone have taken place in the US (University of Michigan) and in Canada (Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto); both times almost 50% of the sample displayed signs of recovery (not having the urge to gamble). However, after a year of testing, only 10% of the participants have been able to keep themselves from continual gambling.
This test will be fully developed by the university’s research center and will constantly monitor and provide gambling-like stimulus to check the development of nine problem gamblers. According to Dr. Darren Christensen, a doctor in charge of the test, low doses of Naltrexone will be administered to the patients in the form of pills.
Dr. Christensen has also confirmed:
We have to remember that Naltrexone is an absolutely TGA-approved treatment in its tablet form for alcohol and for heroin dependency, so it’s fully approved by the Australian government for the treatment.
As of the year 2012, Australia has one of the highest rates of gambling problems in the world. About 2.1% of the Australian population is currently suffering from this problem.