The Use of Agomelatine (Valdoxan) in the Treatment of Gambling: A Pilot Study

Objective. To study the antidepressant agomelatine (an M1/M2 agonist and 5-HT_2C receptor antagonist) in pathological gambling (PG) (ICD-10, F63.0). Materials and methods. An 8-week, open, pilot study was performed. A total of 22 out-patients were treated (17 men and five women, mean age 38 ± 7 years). The severity of PG was assessed using the Yale–Brown obsessive-compulsive scale adapted for PG (PG-YBOCS); levels of anxiety and depression were measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results and conclusions. These studies showed that agomelatine significantly decreased PG-YBOCS scores from week 2 (from 24.2 ± 2.1 before treatment to 12.6 ± 3.0, p < 0.05) and further to the end of the study (5.3). HADS scores also decreased significantly: from 23.6 ± 2.9 to 11.4 ± 1.9 (p < 0.05). These changes corresponded to positive behavioral changes. The results indicated that agomelatine is effective in PG.

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