Memantine Treatment Study of Pathological Gambling
Condition: Pathological Gambling
MeSH terms: Gambling
Intervention: Memantine Hydrochloride
Intervention description: 10 mg/day for two weeks, dose increase to 20 mg at week 3, 30 mg at week 4 unless clinical improvement is achieved with a lower dose. Total treatment is 10 weeks.
Intervention MeSH terms: Memantine
Phase: Phase 2
Study type: Interventional
Primary purpose: Treatment
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Enrollment: 29.0
Sex: All
Minimum age: 21 Years
Maximum age: 75 Years
Healthy volunteers: No
Keywords: Pathological Gambling; Compulsive Gambling; Gambling Addiction; Gambling; Treatment; Memantine; Pharmacology

Summary:

      The goal of the proposed study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the drug memantine
      in individuals with pathological gambling (PG). Thirty subjects with DSM-IV PG will receive
      10 weeks of open-label treatment with memantine. The hypothesis to be tested is that
      memantine will be effective and well tolerated in patients with PG. We hypothesize that
      memantine will reduce the severity of gambling symptoms and improve patients' overall
      functioning. This study will provide needed data on the treatment of a disabling disorder
      that currently lacks a clearly effective treatment.
    

Eligibility criteria:

        Inclusion Criteria:

          -  Clinical diagnosis of Pathological Gambling using the clinician-administered
             Structured Clinical Interview for Pathological Gambling (SCI-PG) (Grant et al., 2004);

          -  Gambling behavior within 2 weeks prior to enrollment;

          -  For women, negative results on a urine pregnancy test and stable use of a medically
             accepted form of contraception.

        Exclusion Criteria:

          -  Infrequent gambling (i.e. less than one time per week) that does not meet DSM-IV
             criteria for PG;

          -  Unstable medical illness or clinically significant abnormalities on laboratory tests,
             EKG, or physical examination at screen;

          -  History of seizures;

          -  Myocardial infarction within 6 months;

          -  Current pregnancy or lactation, or inadequate contraception in women of childbearing
             potential;

          -  A need for medication other than memantine with possible psychotropic effects or
             unfavorable interactions;

          -  Clinically significant suicidality;

          -  Current Axis I disorder determined by the SCID and SCID-compatible modules for impulse
             control disorders (Grant et al., 2005), except for nicotine dependence;

          -  Lifetime history of bipolar disorder type I or II, dementia, schizophrenia, or any
             psychotic disorder determined by SCID;

          -  Current or recent (past 3 months) DSM-IV substance abuse or dependence;

          -  Positive urine drug screen at screening;

          -  Initiation of psychotherapy or behavior therapy within 3 months prior to study
             baseline;

          -  Previous treatment with memantine;

          -  Treatment with investigational medication or depot neuroleptics within 3 months, with
             fluoxetine within 6 weeks, or with other psychotropics within 2 weeks prior to study
             baseline.