Online Gambling and Parkinsons Disease Do Not Mix - 04-23-07
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April 23 - They say truth is stranger than fiction and in the case of findings
recently published by a UK-based medical expert, this is certainly true
after his revelation that people with Parkinson's disease (PD) have an increased
chance of becoming addicted to online gambling.
Dr Sui Wong, a neurology specialist at Walton Centre in the UK, believes that
people who suffer from Parkinson's disease - the 'shaking' disease that
Hollywood actor Michael J. Fox famously suffers from - are more likely to
develop an addiction to gambling online than non-sufferers.
In a study conducted by Dr Wong, it was found that over three percent of PD
sufferers are pathological gamblers, in other words people suffering from a
chronic and obsessive compulsion to bet or gamble online.
Interestingly, the study showed that the percentage increases to 7.2 percent if PD
patients are taking medication such as dopamine agonists. To put this figure in
context, only one percent of the general populace are pathological gamblers.
According to his writings that appeared in the highly respected British Medical
Journal (BMJ), Dr Wong said that the reasons for an increased likelihood of
pathological online gambling and dopamine agonist amongst Parkinson's disease sufferers
are as yet unclear.
