Dr. Bankole Johnson
When Dr. Bankole Johnson presented his idea of a drug to cure alcoholism almost two decades ago, his peers laughed him out of the room. However, no one is laughing now.
Studies conducted by Johnson have shown that Topiramate, a drug normally used to treat epilepsy, along with psychiatric treatment can help alcoholics treat their addiction. The medication helps reduce the cravings and anxiety associated with withdrawal symptoms and can potentially reset the brain’s chemistry.
“Most people assume addiction has to do with moral willpower,” says Johnson. “However there is a biological component to alcoholism- just as there is with diabetes or high blood pressure. It’s a disease of the brain.”
One of the benefits of this medication is that it’s effective on alcoholics that are still drinking; they do not have to be sober. This is important since alcoholics mostly look for help during a crisis. With proper treatment, Johnson feels they do not have to go to AA or rehab. He is also conducting studies to see how this drug works with cocaine and methamphetamine treatment.
Johnson, according to Vitals, graduated from University of Glasgow Medical School and is now chairman of The Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University Of Virginia School Of Medicine.
He was inducted in the Texas Hall of Fame in 2003 for his contributions to science, mathematics and technology. He also received national media attention for his appearance in the HBO original documentary “Addiction” that won a special Emmy Award. He was recently interviewed by Sanjay Gupta in an hour-long program “Addiction: Life on the edge.”
Although the drug hasn’t been officially approved to treat alcoholism, the medical community is in agreement that medications like Topiramate will become a critical piece of helping alcoholics beat their addiction and salvage their lives.
Alcoholism is the new death wish…..so go ahead and take another sip. we need to offer a hand to those in need of help. Help by helping, not by avoiding…come on people
http://www.recoveryconnection.org/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=pv&utm_content=zs&utm_campaign=home
Amazing! Not clear for me, how offen you updating your spotlight.vitals.com.
Hi, good post. I have been wondering about this issue,so thanks for posting.
Alcohol is more dangerous than what many people think, many of us think that if we avoid driving we can drink whatever we want in the amounts we want, but we fail to realize the dangers of alcohol poisoning and how an overdose of alcohol can put an end to our lives. Alcohol poisoning appears as a result of drinking more alcohol than we can process, this in turn makes our body shut down and we enter a comatose state.
This might be a miracle drug for all those recovering alcoholics who can't quit their habit. It's the first time that I heard of medication being successfully used in the treatment of alcoholism. In my experience with christian based recovery so far I noticed that the psychological factor is the most important one, just like Arthur Miller's character, from his autobiographical play “After the Fall” , Quentin would say: “no pill can make us innocent.”.
HI,
Its really big news guys that Dr. Bankole Johnson Reveals Medication to Treat Alcoholism.