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Approximately 178,000 fatalities in the U.S. each year can be linked to alcohol, which is associated with liver ailments, heart conditions, and recognized as a contributor to cancer. (Photo/iStock)
Health
Popular diabetes and weight reduction medication demonstrates potential in diminishing alcohol cravings
USC-led research validates side effect: Semaglutide, commonly referred to as Ozempic and Wegovy, might assist individuals in reducing their alcohol consumption.
The prominent medication semaglutide, widely known as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss, may also aid individuals in reducing their alcohol intake, according to fresh findings led by a USC researcher.
The results, featured in JAMA Psychiatry, revealed that weekly doses of semaglutide—compared with placebo shots—decreased alcohol cravings, consumption, and the incidence of heavy drinking days among adults experiencing symptoms of alcohol use disorder.
This revelation could assist in bridging a crucial treatment void: An estimated 178,000 annual deaths in the U.S. are related to alcohol, which is associated with liver illnesses, heart issues, and is recognized as a cancer trigger, as recently indicated by the U.S. surgeon general. Almost one-third of American adults have met the criteria for problematic drinking at some stage in their lives, yet a minimal number pursue or receive treatment.
The research supports a widespread observation among numerous patients and physicians since the rise in popularity of Ozempic and similar drugs: Individuals commence weekly doses of semaglutide for weight loss or diabetes—and consequently find a diminished desire for alcohol.
This represents the initial randomized, placebo-controlled clinical investigation of semaglutide aimed at exploring this occurrence, stated Christian Hendershot, lead author of the research and head of clinical studies at USC’s Institute for Addiction Science.
The medications presently sanctioned for tackling alcohol use disorder are not extensively utilized. The increasing popularity of semaglutide and other GLP-1 receptor agonists raises the potential for widespread acceptance of these treatments for alcohol use disorder, assuming they receive approval for this purpose, remarked Hendershot, a professor of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
These outcomes warrant larger investigations of GLP-1 receptor agonists for alcohol use disorder, added Hendershot.
The study
For the trial, investigators enlisted 48 adults with alcohol use disorder who were not currently pursuing treatment. Alcohol use disorder is characterized by a spectrum of possible symptoms, including the inability to cease or regulate one’s drinking despite adverse consequences.
Participants had a drinking history over the previous month of more than seven (for females) or more than 14 (for males) standard drinks weekly, in addition to two or more occasions of heavy drinking (four or more drinks for females…
“`and five or more for males).
One week before the initial injection, researchers requested participants to consume their favorite alcoholic drink over a two-hour duration in a relaxed, laboratory environment, providing instructions to postpone drinking if they preferred. Researchers noted the quantity of alcohol ingested.
Participants were then randomly allocated to receive weekly, low-dose injections of Ozempic or a placebo over a nine-week period, during which their drinking habits were also evaluated weekly. Subsequently, both participants and researchers reconvened in the drinking lab to replicate the procedure and observe any changes.
What changed?
Outcomes, evaluated by grams of alcohol consumed and breath alcohol concentration, revealed that semaglutide injections diminished weekly alcohol cravings, lowered the average number of drinks on drinking days, and resulted in more significant reductions in heavy drinking days compared to the placebo. A significant observation was that the extent of semaglutide’s impact on various drinking metrics appeared to exceed what is typically observed with current medications aimed at lowering alcohol cravings, despite semaglutide being administered at only the minimal clinical doses.
The effects of the medication seemed to enhance with increasing dosages. By the second month of treatment, participants in the semaglutide group had decreased their alcohol intake on drinking days by an average of nearly 30%, as opposed to an approximate reduction of around 2% in the placebo group. Furthermore, almost 40% of individuals in the semaglutide group reported experiencing no heavy drinking days in the second month of treatment, compared to 20% in the placebo group.
Among a small subset of participants who smoked cigarettes at the outset, those administered semaglutide displayed notably greater reductions in the average number of cigarettes smoked per day compared to the placebo group, indicating that semaglutide could potentially decrease both alcohol and nicotine consumption.
“These findings indicate the possibility of semaglutide and similar medications to address an unmet necessity for the treatment of alcohol use disorder,” stated senior author Klara Klein from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. “More extensive and prolonged studies in wider populations are essential to comprehensively assess the safety and effectiveness for individuals with alcohol use disorder, but these preliminary findings are encouraging.”
About this study: Alongside Hendershot and Klein, other contributors to the study include Michael Bremmer, Michael Paladino, Georgios Kostantinis, Thomas Gilmore, Neil Sullivan, Amanda Tow, and Robyn Jordan from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Sarah S. Dermody from Toronto Metropolitan University; Mark Prince from Keck School of Medicine; Sherry A. McKee from Yale University School of Medicine; Paul J. Fletcher of the University of Toronto; and Eric D. Claus from The Pennsylvania State University.
This research received funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism grant R21AA026931.