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The source of this article is CTV: http://tinyurl.com/5lmty Anti-Parkinson's drugs may play role in gambling Avis Favaro, CTV Medical Reporter Updated: Sun. Dec. 5 2004 8:11 PM ET Some Canadian doctors and patients suspect that a new class of anti-Parkinson's drugs may play a role in an unusual side effect -- the uncontrollable urge to gamble. "The public should be aware this is a potential problem. Physicians should be aware this is a potential problem," says Dr. Mark Guttman. Guttman is the Director of the Centre for Movement Disorders in Markham, Ont., and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. He believes that about 30 of his more than 1,200 Parkinson's patients have this impulse control problem. Some have lost their homes and their businesses, not to mention hundreds of thousands of dollars. Guttman wonders whether a class of drugs called dopamine agonists are involved, and he's trying to start a study to look into the drugs' effects. Jill Pritchard of Canada's Parkinson Society says she suspects any unusual dopamine agonist side effects are underreported. "It's embarrassing," she says. "Who's going to go to the doctor and say 'I've gambled away my house?'" That's what happened to a man we'll call Jim (he doesn't want to be identified). Jim has Parkinson's disease, but the tremors and rigidity he normally experiences are well controlled by his medications. Jim was always a gambler. But over the last four years, while he was taking dopamine agonists, the gambling became obsessive. "It got to the point where I would borrow money from anyone. I would lie. I would take money from my wife," Jim said. "I knew I was doing wrong, but I couldn't stop myself." Most days, Jim would end up at a casino in Toronto where he says he ended up gambling away about $180,000 in a year. "We don't know for sure if it's the drugs," Guttman says. "But we do know that in many of the people who have come forward, if we cut back the dose or eliminate the drug, that urge to gamble goes away." Another Parkinson's patient who ended up with a gambling problem while on dopamine agonists is Michael. He'd sneak away to the casino whenever he could. Sometimes, he'd make three or four trips each day to go gambling. Michael gambled away $30,000 in a matter of months. But when doctors changed the dose Michael was taking, the problem disappeared. "We cut the medication in half and the cloud began lifting," Michael said. "I could see clearly from that point. Now that I've been off it for two to three weeks, I feel like myself again." Besides starting up a study, some patients also say there should be a warning about possible side effects on the drug's label. Before any link is proven, anyone taking this class of drugs is urged to consult their doctor before altering their treatment. © Copyright 2004 Bell Globemedia Inc. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn