What Have Gambling and Overeating in Common?

Robert W. Griffith, MD

A paper presented at the International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders in Chicago in June this year discussed a syndrome attributed to the use of dopamine-agonist drugs, like ropinirole (Requip®). This drug is used to treat Parkinson's disease and Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). Dr Poucher and other Quebec scientists found that as many as one in ten patients with RLS who are taking a dopamine-agonist drug have compulsive behaviors, which may be expressed as trichotillomania (pulling out one's hair), Tourette-like signs, and compulsive shopping, gambling, or overeating.

A questionnaire was sent to 150 RLS patients, and 97 replies were received. Twelve (8 men, 4 women) had compulsive behaviors; these patients were more likely to have depression, stress, and poor sleep patterns than the other 85. The way to help them is to reduce the dosage of the dopamine agonist, but this may allow the RLS to get worse.

These compulsive behaviors, along with occasional cases of hypersexuality, are also seen in Parkinson's patients taking this type of dopamine agonist. As many as 1.5% of Parkinson's patients develop compulsive gambling, and, as we have seen, about 12% of RLS patients may get a compulsive behavioral problem.

Source
HealthandAge Blog

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