Semaglutide, a medication used to treat obesity, shocked some patients by lowering their appetite to drink.
Semaglutide is an injectable medication that increases the production of insulin, a hormone that aids in controlling blood sugar. It is marketed under the trade names Wegovy and Ozempic. Wegovy was approved as a weight-loss medication by FDA in June 2021, even though both medications’ original goals were to aid in the management of diabetes.
The pill has been dubbed a “game changer” by several experts in obesity medicine. According to research, over the course of 68 weeks, it can result in a 15%–20% decrease in body weight.
Semaglutide users report that they have no longer experienced alcohol cravings. Rat experiments have also shown a similar phenomenon.
There are a few possible reasons for this, medications like semaglutide, also known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, promote satiety, both in your stomach and in your brain.” That can help to curb both food and alcohol cravings.
The most rigorous research design, a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, failed to find a meaningful difference between addiction patients using a GLP-1 receptor agonist and those taking a placebo in terms of the number of heavy drinking days.
However, study did demonstrate that the medicine inhibited the brain’s sensitivity to alcohol signals, which may lead to a reduction in cravings. Additionally, it was discovered that GLP-1 agonists were the most effective at helping obese people cut back on their alcohol consumption.
According to the researchers, Semaglutide’s potential in addiction treatment is “very exciting” but there is need to perform more research and properly construct a clinical trial.
