Semaglutide, a drug currently used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, could also be useful in the treatment of alcoholism. The drug significantly decreased both relapse drinking and alcohol intake in rats, according to research conducted at the University of Gothenburg. The study’s findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal eBioMedicine.
Brand names for semaglutide include Ozempic. Since this drug’s approval for use in the treatment of obesity, demand has increased, making it more difficult to obtain than ever before. Patients who are overweight or diabetic have reported feeling less of a desire to drink since beginning treatment.
When semaglutide was administered to alcohol-dependent rodents, both their overall alcohol consumption and their drinking during relapse episodes decreased significantly. A major issue for alcoholics is relapse, which occurs when someone who has abstained from alcohol for some time begins drinking again and consumes more than they did before they stopped.
In the experiment, alcohol consumption was cut in half for the treated rodents compared to the untreated rodents. The study found that semaglutide effectively decreased alcohol consumption in both male and female rodents.
Despite the promising results of the study, further clinical studies are needed before the medication can be used to treat alcohol dependence. Patients who are both overweight and alcoholics may benefit the most from the medication in the future.
Researchers believe their findings will apply to humans, as previous studies using the same methodology to test medications for treating alcohol dependence have shown positive results in both human and rat subjects.
This research looked into the mechanism by which this medication curbs alcohol consumption. The findings point to a potential role for diminished alcohol-induced reward. The nucleus accumbens, a region of the limbic system, was specifically targeted in the study because it is involved in the brain’s reward system.
From the findings: “Altogether, this indicates that semaglutide reduces alcohol drinking behaviours, possibly via a reduction in alcohol-induced reward and NAc dependent mechanisms. As semaglutide also decreased body weight of alcohol-drinking rats of both sexes, upcoming clinical studies should test the plausibility that semaglutide reduces alcohol intake and body weight in overweight alcohol use disorder patients.”
