IF COLD TURKEY isn't an effective method to quit smoking, there may be an easier way. According to researchers at the Health System, alcohol-dependent individuals, effectively treated with the drug Topiramate, are significantly more likely to quit smoking cigarettes than a placebo group. Researchers followed 94 alcohol-dependent smokers for three months. They found that smoking cessation rates for topiramate recipients were almost three times greater than for those who received a placebo. Full story.
Health Services

The University has chosen a new director of Virginia’s Academic Center at Hampton Roads. K. Edwin Brown, whose appointment was announced June 3 by Sondra F. Stallard, dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, will manage academic and administrative functions at the center, which offers U.Va. credit and noncredit programs throughout the Hampton Roads area. Brown has teaching experience that spans elementary grades through graduate school, including instruction at the Hampton Roads Center. Full story.