Man Claims Parkinson’s Medication Led to Compulsive Gambling.

A man from New York is suing the manufacturer of a popular drug, used to treat Parkinson's disease because he claims it has led to a compulsive gambling habit, which resulted in him losing, in excess of $3million, the man is an ex-Wall Street banker.

New York State Court is holding the lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday. The drug company has been named as the German group ‘Boehringer Ingleheim, Pfizer and Pharmacia & Upjohn' who are being tried on charges of negligent misrepresentation, negligence and breach of warranty.

The New Yorker, 55 year old Mr Randolph Simens, began taking the medication, Mirapex between 2002 and 2007 after having been diagnosed as Parkinsonian and suffering with hand tremors. 'It put a little tickle in me and then snowballed within a month,' says Mr Simens, describing the sudden onset of his Parkinson's condition. The lawsuit has been filed by Mr Simens himself, as he can no longer afford a lawyer.

Pfizer has issued a statement saying that it has stopped promoting the use of Mirapex since late 2005 after researcher found a link between the drug and obsessive, compulsive behaviours, which amongst others includes gambling.

'[Pfizer] acted reasonably and appropriately during the entire time period it was involved with Mirapex.' Says the German based company. The drug is still being prescribed in the United States and has been especially used in the treatment of restless leg syndrome.

Mr Simens, as prosecutions has said that Pfizer 'had a duty to provide adequate warnings and instruction for Mirapex, to use reasonable care to design a product that is not reasonably dangerous to users, and to adequately test their product,'

Mr Simens has been an amateur gambler for years and had always managed to control his gambling, until taking the drug, which he claims had turned him into a compulsive, reckless gambler. Both betting heavily on line and visiting various casinos. 'It's stupidity. I just couldn't stop,' said the former Wall Street banker. He was first alerted to the link between Mirapex and compulsive behaviour after reading an article about it; he said the insight into his behaviour came as a great relief.

Mr Simens has now stopped gambling, after joining a gambling support group and stopping the medication. Beware, if you find yourself with a gambling compulsion- check out any medication you may be on!

On the other hand......

research has recently been conducted in to the drug Naltrexone, usually used to treat alcoholism, and has found that it has also has an effect in reducing the urge to gamble. The research was carried out by University Psychiatrist Jon Grant.

Naltrexone has been found to curb the compulsive nature of pathological gambling, the research involved conducting help groups while at the same time administrating Naltrexone, for people with gambling addiction and found a significant reduction in urge and frequency. The research appears in the ‘Journal of Clinical Psychiatry’ and was conducted by Jon Grant of the University of Minnesota.

"This is good news for people who have a gambling problem, this is the first time people have a proven medication that can help them get their behavior under control" says Grant, principle investigator for this study.

The drug while effective in reducing symptoms of pathological gambling cannot cure completely the problem of gambling addiction, but can help with will-power, the research has found that the drug is most effective when it is combined with other forms of therapy, such as counselling.

 Of the group of addicted gamblers who took part in the study, 40% of them were found to quit gambling for at least one month, most people with gambling addiction need other forms of therapy because the reasons for it are often complex and various. Grant has estimated that around 1-3 % of the American population may be suffering from gambling addiction. Grant has conducted and written a great many articles and studies on addiction and is one of America’s leading psychiatrists on the issues of addiction including gambling, drug and alcoholism. He studies the effects of drugs and therapies using brain imaging to understand better the underlying mechanisms of addiction, and attempt to control it.