Zyprexa

The results weren't conclusive because the drug made participants drowsy and was causing them to sleep excessively, which likely accounted for some of the time they weren't gambling, Bernhard said.

However, the research paved the way for future studies, he said.

Compulsive gambling is a complex disorder and isn't easily solved with drugs or other means, Grant said.

"Gambling is one manifestation of perhaps several underlying problems," he said.

"We need to figure out how all these symptoms interact.

If someone is suffering from depression and is gambling, do we fix one and then the other or do we fix both at the same time?

" Smoking addiction is another complicating factor, he said.

In one study, people who were addicted to nicotine had more intense gambling cravings than people who didn't smoke, he said.

Research is a slow, imperfect process, Bernhard said.

"There's no magic pill out there.

We've been looking at alcoholism for generations and haven't found it."Printer friendly option Send this Article to a Friend Wed.

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The results weren't conclusive because the drug made participants drowsy and was causing them to sleep excessively, which likely accounted for some of the time they weren't gambling, Bernhard said.

However, the research paved the way for future studies, he said.

"When the Eli Lillys of the world are convinced enough about the biochemical nature of this ...

that's a great leap forward," he said.

Nalmefene, a drug made in Finland, is an "opiate blocker" that works by blocking a part of the brain that makes some activities pleasurable.

It has been used on an experimental basis in the United States to treat alcoholics, but has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Grant said.

More than 200 patients in treatment centers across the United States participated in Grant's 2003 study.

Grant said he will be following up with a second study that will involve input from up to 25 different research groups nationwide.

Las Vegas gamblers are among those who will participate in the study.

"We've got to go where the gamblers are," he said.

About 11 double-blind studies involving more than 350 patients have so far been conducted using drugs to treat problem gamblers, Grant said.

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