summary: The diabetes medications Wegovy and Ozempic, which contain semaglutide, significantly reduce the onset and relapse of alcohol use disorder (AUD). In an analysis of health records, researchers observed a 50% to 56% reduction in AUD in patients treated with semaglutide.
These findings suggest a potential new treatment for AUD. The study highlights the need for further clinical trials.
Key Facts:
- Semaglutide, found in Wegovy and Ozempic, reduces alcohol use disorder by 50% to 56%.
- The study analyzed electronic health records of nearly 84,000 people with obesity.
- This discovery may lead to new treatments for AUD, but further clinical trials are needed.
sauce: Case Western Reserve
A new study from researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has found that the popular diabetes and weight loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic are associated with reduced incidence and relapse of alcohol abuse and dependence.
The team’s findings were recently published in the journal Neuroscience. Nature Communications, The study may suggest potential new treatments for excessive alcohol use, including alcohol use disorder (AUD), a health condition that causes approximately 178,000 deaths each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To date, only three medications have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of AUD.
The active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic is semaglutide, which belongs to a class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1), which help regulate blood sugar levels and suppress appetite in type 2 diabetes.
The researchers looked at the electronic health records of nearly 84,000 obese patients and found that those treated with semaglutide had a 50% to 56% reduction in the onset and relapse of alcohol use disorder over the following year compared with those treated with other anti-obesity drugs.
“This is very promising news in that we may have a new therapeutic approach to treat AUD,” said Rong Xu, professor of biomedical informatics in the School of Medicine and lead researcher on the study.
Xu, who also directs the School of Medicine’s Center for AI in Drug Discovery, was joined by co-authors Nathan Berger, the Hannah Payne Professor of Experimental Medicine, and Pamela Davis, the Arlene H. and Curtis F. Garvin Research Professor in the School of Medicine. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, also co-authored the study.
“We gathered real-world evidence in a similar way to two previous studies we reported earlier this year,” Berger said.
“In January we showed that semaglutide was associated with a reduction in suicidal ideation, and in March we demonstrated that semaglutide was also associated with a reduction in both new diagnoses and relapse of cannabis use disorder.”
The team replicated similar findings when they looked at electronic health records of nearly 600,000 people with type 2 diabetes, and also found a consistent reduction in diagnoses of alcohol use disorder in patients treated with semaglutide.
“The results of this study are promising and provide preliminary evidence of the potential benefit of semaglutide for AUD in a real-world patient population, but further randomized clinical trials are needed to support its clinical use for AUD,” said Davis.
About this Neuropharmacology and AUD Research News
author: Ron Shu
sauce: Case Western Reserve
contact: Ron Hsu – Case Western Reserve
image: Image courtesy of Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Association of semaglutide with onset and relapse of alcohol use disorder in the real worldRong Xu et al. Nature Communications
Abstract
Association of semaglutide with onset and relapse of alcohol use disorder in the real world
Alcohol use disorder is a leading cause of disease burden globally, but treatment interventions are limited. Reduced cravings for alcohol in patients treated with semaglutide have sparked interest in its potential therapeutic effect for alcohol use disorder.
This retrospective cohort study of electronic health records of 83,825 obese patients showed that semaglutide was associated with a 50% to 56% lower risk of incident and relapse of alcohol use disorder over a 12-month follow-up period compared with other anti-obesity medications.
Consistent reductions were seen across patients stratified by gender, age group, race, and the presence or absence of type 2 diabetes. Similar results were replicated in a study population of 598,803 patients with type 2 diabetes.
These results provide evidence of the potential benefits of semaglutide for AUD in real-world populations and call for further randomized clinical trials.
