“Several studies in animals suggest that semaglutide reduces dopamine release in brain areas along the mesolimbic dopamine pathway,” says Professor Schacht.
Interestingly, telegraph paper Users also reported that semaglutide reduced their desire to smoke or vape. Carrie Ann Hastings said that before she started weight loss treatment with this drug, she smoked marijuana every night to help her sleep.
“There were times when I would smoke all day,” she says. “I noticed a change within a few days. I didn't have any desire to smoke anymore. I didn't even want to touch or see her vape pen.”
Some clinics have already begun studying semaglutide and other so-called GLP-1 drugs for addiction to other substances. In Pennsylvania, a new clinical trial of liraglutide, another drug aimed at replicating the effects of the GLP-1 hormone, is underway in a small group of patients with opioid use disorder. Results are expected to be obtained in 2024.
But for now, most researchers are focused on potential applications for alcoholism. A total of five major clinical trials, from the United States to Denmark, are currently testing semaglutide in people with alcohol use disorders.
Psychiatrist Mette Kruse Clausen, who is currently recruiting patients to take part in these trials at Copenhagen's Frederiksberg Hospital, says the interest stems from a serious need for new addiction treatments. Studies show that abstinence alone has little effect, and two-thirds of patients relapse within just a year.
“New treatments are sorely needed,” she says. “According to a 2018 World Health Organization report, 280 million people suffer from alcohol use disorder, and harmful alcohol use is the leading cause of preventable death.”
Professor Richards says there are several treatments for alcohol dependence, including acamprosate, disulfiram, naltrexone and nalmefene, but they all have certain limitations. “Both acamprosate and naltrexone are approved to suppress appetite, but the problem is that acamprosate is a three-times-a-day drug, whereas naltrexone is a daily drug, and it can be used in patients with severe liver disease. “It can't be used on patients,” he says. “If I miss a dose or two, the cravings come back.”
However, while there is considerable excitement about the potential of semaglutide, there is still much to understand about how semaglutide works and its long-term persistence.some people said telegraph paper Professor Richards also reported in a study that the drug changed the taste of certain forms of alcohol, to the point that it actively repelled them. “I often hear anecdotes about people actually being averse to the taste of alcohol,” he says. “I hope to be able to explain that in the near future.”
Professor Clausen said this trial was essential to understanding whether this drug could benefit everyone with alcohol use disorder, and the minimum dose of semaglutide needed to achieve benefit. Says. “The lower the dose, the smaller the risk of side effects,” she says.
If the trial is successful, semaglutide could rapidly become available worldwide as a new treatment for alcoholics, as it has already been tested for safety in overweight and obese people. be.
For someone like Wooden, who has already experienced the benefits of not just losing weight, it's easy to see how big of a difference it can make in the lives of many people.
“I’m much more focused on work,” she says. “My sleep is so much better that I now wake up without an alarm clock. I don't know what will happen if I drink alcohol in the future. I think about things like social gatherings and upcoming all-inclusive vacations. And being sober isn't much fun. But if I had to choose between being sober and drinking as much as I used to, I would continue to choose sober.”
