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Times & Transcript | Health - Life As published on page E2 on April 15, 2006 Link found between gambling and Parkinson's drugs CALGARY (CP) - A new study by Calgary researchers reinforces the idea that there is a link between problem gambling and some drugs for Parkinson's disease, a neurological disorder. A University of Calgary study of 195 Parkinson's patients found six per cent developed a gambling addiction while taking medication or after undergoing surgery. That's well above the 1.5 per cent of the general population thought to have a gambling problem. "When I went to the casino, I could pick out the other people who were Parkinson's victims," said a woman who wagered away more than half a million dollars while taking drugs for the disease. Dr. Oksana Suchowersky, who presented the study to an American Academy of Neurology meeting, said Calgary researchers also observed patients who shopped and ate compulsively. She said medications for Parkinson's, which involve the chemical dopamine, appear to stimulate a part of the brain associated with reward behaviour. Yet Suchowersky said the findings don't mean that patients should stop their treatments, which can curb symptoms of the disease. "The last thing I would want is for these medications to be pulled," she said, noting the problem affects a minority of patients. "But we need to talk to patients about this exacerbating compulsive conditions - that it may cause gambling." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn