Study Finds Semaglutide Reduces Frequency and Relapse of Alcohol Dependence
Last reviewed: 14.06.2024
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A new study led by researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine finds that the popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic are associated with a reduction in the incidence and relapse of alcohol abuse or dependence.
Results of a study recently published in the journal Nature Communications may indicate the possibility of a new treatment for excessive drinking, including alcohol use disorder (AUD).
To date, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved only three drugs to treat AUD.
The active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic is semaglutide, which belongs to a class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. GLP-1 helps regulate blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes and reduces appetite.
Researchers examined the electronic medical records of nearly 84,000 obese patients. They found that those treated with semaglutide, compared with patients treated with other anti-obesity drugs, had a 50-56% reduction in both the onset and reoccurrence of alcohol use disorder within a year of treatment.
"This is very encouraging news as we may have a new therapeutic option for treating AUD," said Rong Xu, professor of biomedical informatics in the School of Medicine and lead investigator of this study.
Xu, also director of the medical school's Center for Artificial Intelligence in Drug Discovery, worked with study co-authors Nathan Berger, the Hannah-Payne Professor of Experimental Medicine, and Pamela Davis, the Arline H. And Curtis F. Garvin Research Professor. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is also a co-author of the study.
"We collected real-world data similar to our two previous studies published this year," Berger said. "In January, we showed that semaglutide is associated with a reduction in suicidal ideation, and in March we demonstrated that semaglutide is also associated with a reduction in new diagnoses and relapse of cannabis dependence."
Similar results were found when the team studied electronic health records of approximately 600,000 patients with type 2 diabetes. Again, it was found that those treated with semaglutide experienced a consistent reduction in alcohol use disorder diagnoses.
"Although the results are encouraging and provide preliminary evidence of the potential benefit of semaglutide for AUD in a real-world population," Davis said, "further randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm its clinical use in AUD."