A recent Abilify study has shown a link between Abilify use and the prevalence of pathological gambling habits in patients.

Abilify, aripiprazole, is an antipsychotic medication that is primarily used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression.

In 2002, Abilify was approved for use in schizophrenia patients. Since then, it has become a widely used drug for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as well as depression.

It was developed by Otsuka in Japan but markets it jointly with Bristol-Myers Squibb in the Unites States.

From April 2013 to March 2014, Abilify sales reached almost $7 billion.

Minor side effects of Abilify include weight gain, headache, agitation or anxiety, insomnia, and gastrointestinal effects like nausea and constipation, and lightheadedness.

However, Abilify has been linked to side effects that are much more serious and can have devastating effects.

When it was approved, it was introduced to the U.S. market in the fall of 2002.

Ten years later, in 2012, an official warning from the European Medicines Agency stated that there was a link between Abilify and pathological gambling behaviors.

Problematically, no pathological gambling warning was listed anywhere on the Abilify box or in any of the Abilify literature in the United States until January 2016.

This is true even though both Europe and Canada had labeled Abilify with warnings about the increased risk of pathological gambling and other compulsive behaviors.

In fact, in November 2015, Canada included a hypersexuality warning on the Abilify label, adding to its warnings about pathological gambling.

Researchers believe that Abilify causes patients to exhibit pathological gambling behaviors due to the fact that it is a dopamine agonist in the brain.

The reward and pleasure centers in the brain are controlled by dopamine.

Not only has Abilify been linked to pathological gambling, but also hypersexuality, compulsive shopping and compulsive eating, according to patient reports as well as Abilify study results.

Abilify Study Finds Link to Gambling

The recent Abilfy study studied 166 pathological gamblers. Of those, 8 were patients who took Abilify.

The 8 patients that were looked at closely in the Abilify study were mostly young men with a history of addictive disorders and regular gambling before they took Abilify.

The Abilify study results showed that in 7 of the 8 cases, the probability that pathological gambling is due to Abilify is possible.

The researchers concluded that the dopamine partial agonist mechanism of Abilify could explain the occurrence of pathological gambling.

If you or a loved one has taken Abilify and have suffered as a result of pathological gambling behaviors or other compulsive behaviors, you may have a legal case. An experienced Abilify attorney is waiting to help.