Pharmacotherapy outcome in older pathological gamblers: a preliminary investigation

Although pharmacotherapy is often effective for pathological gambling, little is known about how it affects older populations. The present study examines the response to pharmacotherapy in a series of pathological gamblers age 60 years and older. Fourteen older patients who fulfilled DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling were treated in an outpatient clinic. Subjects were assessed retrospectively with the Clinical Global Impressions scale (both severity and improvement measures) using information collected on gambling symptoms during clinic visits. Eight (57.1%) older patients achieved sustained response to pharmacotherapy. The present findings indicate that many older pathological gamblers respond to "off-label" use of pharmacotherapy. The present findings are preliminary. Further studies with larger samples are needed to confirm these findings.