New Delhi: Researchers have found that an oral form of semaglutide, the GLP-1 medicine used in diabetes and weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, can also reduce alcohol cravings and related problems in adults with alcohol use disorder (AUD).
The findings, published on 30 July in the American Journal of Psychiatry, were the result of a small clinical trial led by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. They suggest the drug could become a potential treatment for AUD, a condition for which no new medication has been approved since 2006.
The trial was conducted in a randomised manner where neither the doctors nor the participants knew who got the real drug. It included 100 adults with moderate to severe AUD who were trying to decrease their alcohol consumption.
The results indicated that the 50 trial participants who took eight weeks of oral semaglutide consumed less alcohol, had lower daily craving intensity and fewer alcohol-related problems than the 50 who received the placebo. Participants also said the medicine had reduced their craving for cannabis too.
Dr Joseph Schacht, professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the study’s lead author, said the findings could expand treatment choices for patients with AUD.
“This could represent a new treatment option for alcohol use disorder, particularly for those who have not benefited from existing medications,” Schacht said in a university press release.
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Treating Alcohol Use Disorder
According to researchers, alcohol use disorder affects millions of people and is marked by an inability to control drinking despite harmful consequences. So far the US Food and Drug Administration has approved only three medicines for treating alcohol use disorder. According to the University of Colorado, no new drug for treating the condition has received FDA approval.
For the trial, the team chose an oral formulation of semaglutide because they believed a pill could be more acceptable to patients than injectable versions. However, earlier studies using injectable GLP-1 drugs had also suggested that they could reduce alcohol consumption.
However, researchers warned that these findings are only part of preliminary research. CU Anschutz and researchers at other institutions are planning larger, longer-term trials to confirm the findings and establish optimal dosing of semaglutide for alcohol use disorder.
(Edited by Janaki Pande)