Parkinson's Disease Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Parkinson's Disease, including details on symptoms, treatment, genetics, medication.

Factors associated with dopaminergic drug-related pathological gambling in Parkinson disease.

Voon V, Thomsen T, Miyasaki JM, de Souza M, Shafro A, Fox SH, Duff-Canning S, Lang AE, Zurowski M

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. voonv@ninds.nih.gov

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate factors associated with pathological gambling (PG) in Parkinson disease (PD). DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Outpatient tertiary clinic. Patients Twenty-one patients with idiopathic PD with PG after the patients began receiving medications compared with a consecutive sample of 42 patients with idiopathic PD without compulsive behaviors. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Clinical features, comorbid psychiatric and substance use disorders, personality traits, and impulsivity scores. RESULTS: Patients with PG had a younger age at PD onset (P = .006), higher novelty seeking (P<.001), medication-induced hypomania or mania (P = .001), impaired planning (P = .002), or a personal or immediate family history of alcohol use disorders (P = .002). Novelty seeking, a personal or immediate family history of alcohol use disorders, and younger age at PD onset accurately predicted PG at 83.7% in a logistic regression model, with the model accounting for 62% of the variance. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with PD having a younger age at PD onset, higher novelty seeking traits, and a personal or family history of alcohol use disorders may have a greater risk for PG with dopamine agonists.

Published 13 February 2007 in Arch Neurol, 64(2): 212-6.
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