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- 23 January 2024

University of Cambridge Grand Rounds: Gambling Research Consortium Meeting

A group of the world’s leading researchers gathered for a Grand Round at the University of Cambridge to study new therapies for Pathological Gambling and other Behavioral Addictions.

Dr. Stefano Pallanti held a talk on the efficacy of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).

Cambridge Grand Rounds: Gambling Research Consortium Meeting New Frontiers in Treatment

📅 Date: January 23, 2024

📍 Location: School of Clinical Medicine ― University of Cambridge

In January 2024, the University of Cambridge hosted a major international event: the Cambridge Gambling Research Consortium Meeting. The Grand Rounds brought together world-class researchers to discuss new frontiers in the treatment of Pathological Gambling and other Behavioral Addictions.

Pathological Gambling and Behavioral Addictions are a growing public health concern. Considering the increasing number of people suffering from behavioral addiction, there is an urgent need for cutting-edge treatment programs that can effectively address them.

This year's Grand Rounds held at the University of Cambridge aimed to address this need by bringing together some of the world's leading experts in the field to foster knowledge sharing and multidisciplinary collaboration to accelerate the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for Behavioral Addictions.

Keynote speakers at the event included:

Dr. Pallanti's Grand Round― Innovative Therapies for Effective Treatment

📖 Title: TMS: A New Therapy for Gambling and Behavioral Addictions

📅 Date and Time: January 23, 2024 ― 1:50 PM

At the Cambridge Gambling Research Consortium Meeting, Dr. Stefano Pallanti gave a Grand Round titled "TMS: A New Therapy for Gambling and Behavioral Addictions." He presented the results of his latest studies, which demonstrate the efficacy of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in the treatment of Pathological Gambling.

TMS is an innovative technique that uses magnetic fields to stimulate or inhibit specific areas of the brain, modulating their neural activity. In the field of behavioral addictions, TMS has been shown to be effective in significantly reducing symptoms, particularly by reducing craving symptoms and improving decision-making processes in people suffering from these disorders.

This is what emerges from the findings of a groundbreaking study conducted by the Istituto di Neuroscienze in collaboration with Harvard University and funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH). The research was conducted on a group of 29 patients with Gambling Disorder who received TMS treatment using the innovative Theta Burst Stimulation protocol. Based on the results obtained in this study, it was possible to highlight how this protocol can significantly reduce gambling symptoms, as measured using the PG-YBOCS scale, an assessment tool created by Dr. Stefano Pallanti by adapting the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale to Gambling Disorder.

The personalized and targeted approach that TMS allows represents a real paradigm shift in the treatment of gambling, opening the door to new frontiers in the treatment of Behavioral Addictions.

Learn more about the use of TMS for the treatment of Pathological Gambling ➜

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