The medication topiramate may not only improve drinking problems in people with alcohol dependence, but boost their quality of life according to the search.

Topiramate (Topamax) is an anti-seizure drug that has also been shown to reduce drinking in alcoholics , it effects on certain brain chemicals thought to be involved in alcohol dependence.

Whether treatment with the drug can also improve alcoholics’ physical and mental well-being,yet it has been unclear.

Topiramate therapy was also associated with a drop in alcohol-related obsessions and compulsions, and with improvements in psychological well-being and quality of life.

Such improvements in overall well-being, could reduce the risk of alcoholic relapse.

The drug did have side effects in some patients ; appetite loss and difficulty concentrating.

The improvements in physical and mental well-being are promising, Johnson’s team concludes.

“Our findings,” they write, “demonstrate that topiramate appears to be a generally effective treatment for alcohol dependence because it improves not only the ’symptom’ of drinking but also its physical and psychosocial (consequences).”