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Ontario studies Parkinson drug, problem gambling link

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.

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