Pharmacological interventions for Problematic Usage of the Internet (PUI): A narrative review of current progress and future directions

Solly, Jeremy E, Grant, Jon E. and Chamberlain, Samuel (2022) Pharmacological interventions for Problematic Usage of the Internet (PUI): A narrative review of current progress and future directions. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 46, [101158]. (doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101158).

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Abstract

Problematic Usage of the Internet (PUI) represents a spectrum of excessive online behaviors and is linked to reduced quality of life and high rates of psychiatric comorbidity, with growing demand for effective treatments. This paper provides a narrative review of pharmacological studies for PUI conducted to date. Most pharmacological treatment trials have focused on bupropion and escitalopram or involved samples with common comorbidities and used current treatments for the relevant comorbid disorders. Overall, there remains a dearth of high-quality evidence, with the current literature lacking control groups, large sample sizes, validated outcome measures, longer term treatment and follow-up periods. The literature cannot at this stage determine evidence-based pharmacological treatments for PUI.

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Accepted/In Press date: 8 May 2022

e-pub ahead of print date: 11 June 2022

Published date: 1 August 2022

Additional Information: Funding Information: Dr Solly's role in this paper was supported by a National Institute for Health Research Academic Clinical Fellowship. Prof. Chamberlain's role in this paper was funded by a Clinical Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust (reference 110049/Z/15/Z and 110049/Z/15/A). This article/publication is based upon work from COST Action CA16207 “European Network for Problematic Usage of the Internet”, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). www.cost.eu. Funding Information: Prof. Grant has received research grants from the TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, and Otsuka, Biohaven, and Avanir Pharmaceuticals. He receives yearly compensation for acting as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Gambling Studies and has received royalties from Oxford University Press, American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., Norton Press, and McGraw Hill. Prof. Chamberlain receives an honorarium from Elsevier from editorial work at Comprehensive Psychiatry, and at Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. Dr. Solly declares no potential competing interests. Funding Information: Dr Solly’s role in this paper was supported by a National Institute for Health Research Academic Clinical Fellowship. Prof. Chamberlain’s role in this paper was funded by a Clinical Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust (reference 110049/Z/15/Z and 110049/Z/15/A). This article/publication is based upon work from COST Action CA16207 “European Network for Problematic Usage of the Internet”, supported by COST ( European Cooperation in Science and Technology ). www.cost.eu. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

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