Thursday, March 08, 2007

The Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre (OPGRC) has announced a
$209,040 research project to study the increased incidence of problem
gambling among Parkinson's Disease patients who follow a common drug regimen
to cope with the disease. The Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and
Addiction (INMHA) and Parkinson Society Canada have agreed to join the
Centre in funding the study. Both clinicians and researchers are interested
in recent studies indicating that certain people taking medicine for
Parkinson's disease may engage in compulsive behaviour, including gambling.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease. Movement in the
body is normally controlled by a chemical called dopamine. When brain cells
that produce dopamine die, the symptoms of PD appear. People with PD
experience shaking, as well as difficulty with walking, movement and
co-ordination. Currently there is no cure. It is estimated that about
100,000 Canadians have PD. Medications that treat the symptoms of PD include
levodopa, which is converted into dopamine, or dopamine agonists, which are
compounds that mimic the action of dopamine. The theory behind the proposed
one-year research study is that behaviours associated with problem gambling
in PD may actually be fuelled by the medications. The result of these
behaviours can have devastating consequences for the individuals and their
families. Preliminary research has indicated a link for Parkinson's patients
being treated with levodopa, according to Dr. Antonio Strafella who would
serve as the principal investigator in the study. Dr. Strafella (Movement
Disorders Centre, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network) is a
neurologist with expertise in movement disorders and sub-specialization in
neurophysiology and brain imaging. He will lead a team of researchers from
Toronto Western Hospital and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
"What we've seen in the very early stages of our research is that the
increased turnover of dopamine activity in the brain contributes to
pathological gambling," Dr. Strafella said. "This grant will allow us to
look into this area in much greater depth and will benefit Parkinson's
patients as well as people in the general population by giving us a better
understanding of how the brain functions when it comes to problem gambling."
The research will focus on a group of 44 Parkinson's patients, fifty per
cent of whom have identified problem gambling behaviours and fifty per cent
who have not. The study will employ the use of Positron Emission Technology
(PET), an imaging technique which produces a three-dimensional image or map
of functional processes in the brain.

Dr. Strafella added it is his hope that the research could provide new
knowledge that eventually may lead to new therapeutic approaches to treat
and prevent problem gambling.

The OPGRC is an arms-length provincial agency with a mandate that includes
the scientific study of effective prevention and treatment responses to
problem gambling.

Parkinson Society Canada is a not-for-profit, national charitable
organization whose mission is easing the burden and finding a cure for
Parkinson's disease through research, education, advocacy and support
services.

The Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (an Institute of
the Canadian Institutes of Health Research) is a national funding agency
that supports innovative research to provide new knowledge of the biological
and socio-cultural processes underlying neurological, mental, and addictive
disorders.