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NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partner university faculty. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
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NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partner university faculty. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
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Mental Health |
Gambling Addiction05/14/2008 |
What would cause a person to suddenly develop a gambling addiction when they are in their 50s?
Certain medications used to treat Parkinson's disease (such as pramipexole and ropinirole) have, as a very rare side effect, the sudden onset of gambling addiction, in a person who previously never had problems with gambling. The exact mechanism of this side effect is not clearly understood, but because these 2 medications are dopamine agonists (that is, they turn on the dopamine receptor) and because addiction is related to a dysfunction in the dopamine/reward system of the brain, researchers speculate that the gambling addiction may be triggered by too much dopamine in the brain.
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Christina M Delos Reyes, MD Assistant Professor of Psychiatry School of Medicine Case Western Reserve University |
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