Outcome of pharmacological treatments of pathological gambling: a review and meta-analysis.

Unlabelled: Although several qualitative reviews on pharmacological interventions for pathological gambling have been published, no quantitative review of this field has been conducted.

Methods: Studies of pharmacological interventions of pathological gambling were identified by computer searches in the PsychINFO and MEDLINE databases covering the period from 1966 to July 2006, as well as from relevant reference lists. The inclusion criteria were as follows: the target problem had to be pathological gambling, the interventions were pharmacological, the study was written in English, and the study reported outcomes particularly pertaining to gambling.

[Pharmacological treatment of pathological gambling].

Background: The need for effective treatment for pathological gambling is urgent. The majority of treatment studies and available treatments today are based upon cognitive-behavioural therapy. Recently, however, several studies investigating the effects of pharmacological interventions have been published.