By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on January 9, 2013 For decades, researchers have found that some individuals with Parkinsons disease struggle with impulse control problems such as compulsive gambling and shopping. Now, new research determines the impulse problems come not from Parkinsons disease itself, but as a side effect of medications used to control it. The new research is published in the journal Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Weve known for some time that these behaviors are more common in people taking certain Parkinsons medications, but we havent known if the disease itself leads to an increased risk of these behaviors, said study author Daniel Weintraub, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania. The study involved 168 people who had recently been diagnosed with Parkinsons disease and had not yet taken any medications for the disease. They were compared to 143 people of similar ages who did not have the disease. The participants were given a questionnaire asking how often they had impulse control symptoms such as compulsive gambling, shopping, sexual behavior or eating. Participants were also asked about aimless wandering, punding (which is excessive repetition of non-goal … Continue reading →

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Parkinson's Disease Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;Psychology / Psychiatry Article Date: 09 Jan 2013 - 12:00 PST Current ratings for: Parkinson's Impulse Disorders May Be Drug-Related The researchers, from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the US, write about their findings in the 8 January issue of the journal Neurology. Although it does not prove it, the study adds weight to the idea that dopamine-targeting drugs cause Parkinson's patients' to experience problems with impulse control. Lead author Daniel Weintraub, associate professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at Perelman, says in a statement released on Monday: "When looking at newly diagnosed Parkinson's patients who had yet to be treated with drugs targeting the dopamine system, we saw no difference in impulsivity than what we found in healthy people without the disease." Impulse control disorders are more serious than occasionally not being able to resist that last piece of cake, or sometimes breaking a resolution not to buy any more shoes this year. The inability to control impulses becomes a disorder when the consequences cause harm to self or others. Examples include but are not limited to, addictions to gambling, sex, … Continue reading →

Jan. 8, 2013 -- Parkinsons disease itself doesnt seem to raise a persons risk for compulsive addictions to things like gambling, shopping, or sex, a new study shows. Compulsive behaviors affect about 14% of Parkinsons patients treated with drugs such asdopamine agonists to ease symptoms like tremors, stiffness, and slowness. In severe cases, the new addictions that people develop on the drugs can be devastating -- leading to ruined finances and relationships -- and theyve generated a raft of lawsuits against drug manufacturers. In November, a French man won a high-profile case against the company that sells Requip, which he said turned him into a sex and gambling addict. In 2008, a Minneapolis man won a case involving gambling addiction against the maker of Mirapex. As a result, dopamine agonists now carry warnings about compulsive behaviors on their labels. A missing piece to the story was whether just Parkinsons disease itself has any effect or plays any role on the risk of having these problems without the drugs, says researcher Daniel Weintraub, MD, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. In the largest such study to date, Weintraub and his team set out to … Continue reading →