USA TODAY - Alcoholics cut heavy drinking when taking drug off-label
A drug sold to prevent seizures and migraines was more effective than a placebo in reducing alcoholics’ heavy-drinking days, a study says.
Unlike other drugs to treat alcoholism, topiramate, or Topamax, does not require people to stop drinking before starting treatment, the study’s authors write in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
In addition, treatment required a weekly 15-minute counseling session, done by nurses in the study.
“This is a drug that can be given to people in crisis,” says lead author Bankole Johnson, psychiatry chair at the University of Virginia.
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Men and women ages 18 to 65 participated in the 14-week study. Researchers randomly assigned 183 to topiramate pills and 188 to placebo pills. In the first five weeks, the daily dose of topiramate gradually increased from 25 to 300 milligrams.
Patients on the placebo pills also began drinking less, the study found. …
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