The Doctors: Parkinson’s Medications Cause Gambling?
The Doctors were discussing negative side effects of prescription medications and wanted to move on to something that may surprise a lot of people. A worldwide study has found a possible study between extremely compulsive behavior and some drugs for people with Parkinson’s Disease. Although the medications provide a lot of relief for those that take them, some are calling for a warning label to be added to the bottles to warn users of side effects like gambling and hypersexuality.
The Doctors talked about the possibility that your birth season could affect your personality. (Liubou Yasiukovich / Shutterstock.com)
Dr. Travis Stork explained that dopamine lights up the pleasure centers in the brain, which are associated with things like gambling or sexual activity. Dopamine also helps regulate movement. Dr. Stork said when you get a dopamine surge, it lights up your pleasure center, and with someone who has Parkinson’s, the dopamine lessens because the neurons can die off. Doctors will prescribe what’s known as a dopamine agonist. Taking the pill causes you to replace the dopamine that was lost, in order to regulate movement. An unintended side effect could be lighting up the pleasure center.
The Drs TV: Unlikely Side Effects Of Prescription Drugs
When you light up the pleasure center, it may increase your desire to do things like gamble. Dr. Drew Ordon said dopamine is powerful stuff, so “manic behavior” could be a result. Dr. Jennifer Ashton said it’s another time when people need to think like a doctor and understand that it could be a side effect of a whole class of medication. The benefit of the medication if you’re treating something like Parkinson’s might outweigh the side effect, but you should still be aware of both.
Dr. Stork shared that 2.1 million prescriptions were released in the last 12 months and one in seven people are experiencing the side effects they were talking about. Dr. Stork said if you’re someone taking them, and you notice the side effects taking place, that’s when you should raise the red flag. Dr. Ordon said drugs taken for compulsive behavior could just make the problem worse, by adding even more dopamine into the mix.
The Doctors: Could Season In Which You Were Born Affect Personality?
The Doctors then moved on to share that someone’s personality could just have to do with when they were born. A scientific study claims to have discovered a connection between the season in which we were born and our personalities. The study, which analyzed 400 people, found that people who were born in the summer were much more moody than those born in the winter. If you were born in the fall, you are supposedly less likely to suffer from depression. The study failed to explain why the seasons affect our temperament, which frustrated some people, but not those born in the fall.
Dr. Ashton asked if it was association or causation, saying that right now, it’s clearly just association. She said they looked at the season in which a person was born and associated it with certain personality traits. Dr. Drew Ordon said it was similar to astrology, but Dr. Stork said there could be a lot of factors contributing. He said you’re more likely to eat certain foods in certain seasons, and perhaps the mother eating those foods while pregnant caused different temperaments in her kids.
Dr. Stork said the last thing you want to do is have people plan on having their babies in certain seasons with hopes of them having certain personalities.
Leave a Reply