A common amino acid sold as a dietary supplement could help diminish pathological gambling addictions, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Minnesota (UM) uncovered the link following an 8-week trial involving 27 people who were given increasing doses of N-acetyl cysteine. By the end of the pilot study, published in the September 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry, 60% of the participants reported having less urges to gamble…Like any addiction, treatment for compulsive gambling is a challenge—according to the Mayo Clinic—because people often have difficulty admitting their problem and therefore do not look for help. However, when treatment is undertaken it traditionally involves psychotherapy, self-help groups and/or medication. And this is where the potential for a dietary supplement to help comes in.

“It looks very promising,” said Dr. Jon Grant, UM associate professor of psychiatry and principal investigator of the study. “We were able to reduce people’s urges to gamble.” As such, the researchers are now in the process of trying to get a federal grant to fund a larger study.

Thirteen of the 16 participants who responded to the amino acid the first time around agreed to continue in the double-blind study (the other three did not want to risk quitting the drug they were on) for an additional 6 weeks.

Of these, around 83% who received the supplement continued to report fewer urges to gamble and nearly 72% of those who took the placebo went back to gambling. N-acetyl cysteine is said to have an impact on the chemical glutamate, which is often associated with reward in the brain…”This research could be encouraging for a lot of addictions,” said Grant.

—Clarisse Douaud, NutraIngredients.com, 9/13/07