According to new research in the December 16 issue of the journal Addiction, adults who are addicted to methamphetamine (meth) and are using Topamax (topamirate) as a means of helping them kick the habit may not find any benefit at all.

While the recent study does suggest that using Topamax may, in fact, help to reduce the amount of methamphetamine the addicts take, it just can’t do enough to make quitting any easier. Even though research is showing that topiramate attenuates downstream midbrain dopamine release, which curbs addiction by taking some of the pleasure out of it, the drug doesn’t work as well with meth as it does in curbing alcohol or cocaine consumption.

During the 13-week trial, Dr. Bankole A. Johnson from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and his team of colleagues monitored how effective Topamax was in getting meth addicts to stop using. What they found was that “topiramate recipients were significantly more likely than placebo recipients to achieve a 25 percent reduction in baseline level of methamphetamine use (64 percent vs. 42 percent, p=0.03).”

This means “that even when topiramate treatment did not lead to abstinence, it was associated with a significant decrease in risk of harm from methamphetamine use,” the researchers wrote.

Topamax is an epilepsy drug that is also used to treat migraines. The drug, which is made by Johnson & Johnson’s Ortho-McNeil division, has been the subject of much controversy after research showed Topamax to be linked to birth defects in babies whose mothers took the drug while pregnant. Some of the babies exposed to Topamax in-utero were born with cleft lip, cleft palate, spina bifida, neural tube defects and PPHN. Because of these serious adverse side effects, Topamax is not recommended for women of child-bearing age.

If your baby was born with birth defects as a result of taking Topamax, contact attorney Greg Jones today for a free consultation. I am experienced at fighting Topamax lawsuits and may be able to help you recover money for your baby’s injuries.