The migraine drug topiramate, also known by the brand name Topamax, was found in a recently published study to help some alcoholics stop drinking with limited means of additional intervention.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association earlier this month, consisted of 371 men and women who entered the experiment at peak drinking levels, including a control group who took placebo drugs.

“[Topiramate] is given when they’re at the height of drinking,” said Dr. Bankole Johnson, chairman of the department of psychiatric medicine at the University of Virginia and leader of the study.

Other medications currently approved for treating alcoholism use different techniques to help prevent relapse after the individual has already quit drinking.

The three existing drugs used to treat alcoholism are acamprosate (Campral), approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2004, naltrexone (ReVia), approved in 1994, and disulfiram (Antabuse), used since 1948.

Johnson said topiramate appears unique not only in its administration during the peak drinking stage, but also in the fact that it requires limited intervention from a physician.

The subjects in Johnson’s study only received weekly, 15-minute interventions throughout the 14-week trial, interventions that can be performed by any physician.

“To my mind, it’s a real paradigm shift in treatment,” Johnson said. “It brings [alcoholism] out of the woodwork into the medical arena.”

Treatment for alcoholism by general doctors can also reduce its stigma, he said.

Currently, although doctors can legally prescribe topiramate for whatever purpose they see fit (including treating alcoholism), as they can legally prescribe any drug for an “off-label” purpose, the FDA has not yet approved it for treating alcoholism.

Because of this, some are concerned that topiramate is being illegally and dangerously “promoted.” Public Citizen’s Health Research Group published a letter opposing this “promotion.”

Johnson said he and others involved in the study are not promoting topiramate as an alcoholism medication, but that medical professionals and the public have the right to know the results of scientific studies such as these.

“That’s how science advances,” Johnson said.

According to an Associated Press article, Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, Topamax’s manufacturer, funded the study, and although researchers reported financial ties to the company, they also said Ortho-McNeil only reviewed the manuscript, without changing the interpretation of the results or the results themselves.

A local Alcoholics Anonymous member, Mary, who did not disclose her last name due to the importance of anonymity to the organization, said she wasn’t sure what she thought about topiramate for alcoholism treatment.

Although A.A. does not, as an organization take a stance on public issues, Mary agreed to share her individual opinion. She said if the drug works for some people, “more power to them,” but she questions the long-term effectiveness of the medication for alcoholism.

Johnson admitted the drug has not yet been tested long term, but he hopes for a future experiment to test that aspect of its effectiveness against alcoholism.

Another question related to the drug’s long-term effectiveness is whether or not it would need to be taken permanently in order for patients to stay sober.

“A lot of people can stop, but can they stay stopped?” Mary said. “That’s the question.”

Kay Lynn Haubrich, licensed master of social work at The Richmond Center, a local mental health clinic, said while she is not familiar with this specific study, she could see how it could be helpful to a limited degree.

“I think it would help, maybe, with the consequences on the body,” Haubrich said. “But I don’t think it would help them retain recovery. I think there needs to be a complete package.”