title: Nalmefene in the treatment of pathological gambling: multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
abstract: Pathological gambling is a disabling disorder experienced by about 1% of adults. We randomised 233 participants (41.6% women) 1:1:1 to nalmefene (20 or 40 mg) or placebo. In analyses performed using an intention-to-treat (ITT) population, nalmefene failed to show statistically significant differences from placebo on primary and secondary outcomes. Post hoc analyses of only participants who received a full titration of the medication for at least 1 week demonstrated that nalmefene 40 mg/day resulted in significantly greater reductions on the primary outcome measure. These findings suggest that medication dosing may be an important consideration in achieving symptom control.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, 2450 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA. grant045@umn.edu
authors.forename: Jon E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Brian L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Odlaug
authors.forename: Marc N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Potenza
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hollander
authors.forename: Suck Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D057194:Intention to Treat Analysis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009271:Naltrexone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010919:Placebos; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D010919:Placebos; D009271:Naltrexone; C038981:nalmefene