In the summer of 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that nine states had an obesity rate of 30 percent or higher. Only nine years earlier, no state had an obesity rate of 30 percent or more. With that kind of increase in obesity rates, many medications are being explored for use in obesity treatment, and Topamax is one of them.
What is Topamax?
Topamax is an anticonvulsant medication that is used primarily for the treatment of seizures in people who have epilepsy; when seizures continue to occur despite standard medications, Topamax may be added to the drug regimen. In addition, Topamax has been found to be effective as a migraine preventative, although it will not relieve the pain of a migraine once the headache occurs. In addition, Topamax has been used for alcohol dependence. As with all medications, Topamax has side effects, and some patients in whom it was used reported weight loss as a side effect.
Topamax and Bulimia
As the reports of weight loss from Topamax came in, researchers began to look at Topamax as a tool for obesity management, and in particular, for use in the management of an eating disorder called bulimia. Bulimic patients commonly gorge on food and then use various strategies to make themselves vomit. Clinical trials reported in the November 2003 "Journal of Clinical Psychiatry" showed that Topamax was effective in decreasing both binging and purging symptoms in bulimic patients. Johnson & Johnson, the company that manufactured Topamax, had also begun researching its use in treatment of obesity and non-insulin dependent diabetes.
Topamax and Obesity
On December 2, 2004, "The New York Times" reported: "Johnson & Johnson said yesterday that it had abandoned efforts to develop its Topamax epilepsy medicine as a treatment for obesity and diabetes after studies showed it was not effective." Other research had different results, however, such as the research reported in the November 2003 issue of the "International Journal of Obesity" from a Swedish study of type II diabetics. This study found Topamax effective for weight loss and in reducing blood sugars, but the authors cautioned that more research was needed, and commented that patients who dropped out of the study -- the drop-out rate was 42 percent -- did so because of numbness and central nervous system side effects.
Warnings
While Topamax may have some promise in treating bulimia, it is not currently considered or recommended as a general weight loss drug by Johnson & Johnson. Medical professionals may sometimes prescribe a medication for "off-label use" if they feel the patient's condition warrants it, so some do use Topamax for weight loss in severely obese patients. If you are taking Topamax for a condition such as epilepsy, you should notify your health care professional if you experience weight loss.
References
- National Center for Biotechnology Information U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health :Topiramate, May 2010
- "Journal of Clinical Psychiatry":Treatment of bulimia nervosa with topiramate in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, part 1: improvement in binge and purge measures, Hoopes SP, Reimherr FW, Hedges DW, Rosenthal NR, Kamin M, Karim R, Capece JA, Karvois D., November 2003
- "International Journal of Obesity (London)": Weight loss and metabolic effects of topiramate in overweight and obese type 2 diabetic patients: randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial, Eliasson B, Gudbjörnsdottir S, Cederholm J, Liang Y, Vercruysse F, Smith U., November 2003
- "New York Times": Business Day Company News; Johnson & Johnson Halts Effort on New Uses of Drug, December 2, 2004
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