Addiction recovery using natural methods
Addiction Recovery
Study find that NAC may help people overcome Addictions
NAC ( N-acetylcystine )
NAC has been found to decrease the urge to use cocaine also appears to help people who have an addiction to gambling. NAC continues to be studied in other addictions.
At the University of Minnesota, John E. Grant, M.D. and his team have treated twenty-three patients who have been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive gambling disorder. In the study the subjects were given 600 mg of NAC daily for two weeks, then it was increased to 1,200 mg daily for two weeks, and then it was increased to 1,800 mg daily for four weeks. Sixteen patients responded favorably to the NAC supplements. Of these sixteen patients almost two-thirds of them reported abstinence from gambling.
The patients were tested to assess their gambling addiction. It was found that their gambling addiction had decreased by an average of forty percent (40%) during the first phase of the study.
A double blind study was started in which thirteen of the patients who had a positive response to the NAC treatment entered into this study. In the double blind phase of the study the participants were given either a placebo or 1,800 mg of NAC for six weeks. Of those taking the placebo (72%) seventy two percent resumed gambling. Of the participants taking the NAC (82%) eighty-two percent continued to respond favorable.
The researchers felt that the NAC influences neurotransmitter activity in the glutamate pathways of the brain.
Prior to the study the participants lost over $450 each week on gambling activities. So there was found to be a benefit to use NAC to help control gambling activities in this study.
Reference: Grant, J.E.; Kim, S.W.; Odlaug, B.L. -- N-acetyl cysteine, a glutamate modulating agent in the treatment of pathological gambling: a pilot study. Biological Psychiatry, 2007;62:652-657.
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