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Is There a Link Between Parkinson’s Drugs and Gambling?

One would think that being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease was now officially the worst thing that could happen to them. However, it seems that it can get worse. In fact, it looks as if the drugs that they are using to treat Parkinson’s may actually be turning those with the disease into compulsive gamblers as well.

A recent study done by the Mayo Clinic shows that some of the patients who are using the drug Mirapex or similar medications, have since developed an addiction to gambling. Researchers say that they have never seen anything like this, and that “pathological gambling induced by a drug” was “unusual” and unexpected.

So far they have found that initially 11 of their patients had developed the problem between 2002 and 2004. Four of those patients had never gambled before starting the drug. Since that time, they have identified another 14 patients with the same problem.

Six of the patients developed other problems as well as compulsive gambling. They had increased eating, increased alcohol consumption, increased spending, and hypersexuality. One patient said that she could not drive past a casino without playing the slot machines, and had lost more than $100,000 and her marriage due to the problem. She was unable to even purchase one scratch off lottery ticket, and instead would have to buy several at a time.

One patient said that they could not stop slot machine gambling while on the drug, but once they stopped the drug the addiction left him. Unfortunately as a side effect it is one that goes undiagnosed and thus patients don’t realize that there is a tie in. Once it is diagnosed, the patient can stop the drug and the addiction will stop as well.

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