Pill Could Help Curb Alcoholism

A medication used to treat seizures and headaches is now helping some alcoholics curb their drinking. Christine Flemming is a survivor, overcoming anorexia, bulimia and more recently, a drinking problem. "I used alcohol as a crutch with my eating disorder, I actually drank instead of eating," she said. Typically, she;'d crack open her first beer around 11 a.m. "When my husband actually said to me, you know, 'I'm coming home and you're already on your sixth, seventh beer and I'm coming home at 1:30, 2 in the afternoon,' and - there was a problem. I knew there was a problem then," she explained. Determined to back off the booze, the mother of three took part in a study on topiramate. The drug, marketed as topamax, is approved for epilepsy and migraines. Now research suggests it can also treat alcohol addiction. Dr. Bankole... [read full story]