Bankole Johnson, University chair of psychiatric medicine, discussed his development of a drug that helps people overcome addictions in HBO's documentary "Addiction," which aired last night.
"The drug, topiramate, reduces the level of dopamine, which is central to pleasurable affects of alcohol and drugs," Johnson said in an interview yesterday with The Cavalier Daily.
According to Johnson, no other medical drug has been developed that is as effective as topiramate, which usually helps stop addictions in six to 10 weeks.
The drug is also being tested as a possible tool to counteract nicotine addiction. Johnson said the drug is already used to relieve migraines and epilepsy.
The HBO documentary follows two men, one younger and one older, before and after they are treated for their addiction.
According to Johnson, the documentary's goal is to emphasize that addiction is a treatable medical condition.
"Some people perceive [addiction] as a moral weakness but it's actually a brain disease," Johnson said.
According to Johnson, addiction causes changes in the brain, making it less capable of making decisions, as drugs affect the pleasure centers of the brain and the pleasure feeling becomes dominant. The desire to recapture this feeling then results in over-usage of a drug, Johnson said.
"Having an addiction is like having your brain being hijacked," Johnson said. "It is difficult to get off an addiction because you have to loosen that hold that it has on the brain."
The documentary's debut coincides with the release of a study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, which said college students are more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs today than they were 10 years ago, said Susan Foster, vice-president and director of the center.
According to Foster, the study shows an increase in binge drinking, drinking to get drunk and drinking more than 10 times a month. The study also showed an increase in the abuse of prescription drugs.
"People are taught that they do not have to tolerate pain, that they can just take medicine instead," Foster said. "Many students just want to have fun and lose any pain they might be feeling. They don't pay attention to the possible consequences to the action."
Foster said these behaviors could lead to more people becoming addicted to substances such as alcohol and prescription drugs.
"There is a lack of understanding [about addictions] in the population as a whole," Foster said. "People do not recognize that risky behavior can lead to addictions."
-- Stephanie Morton contributed to this article
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