Semaglutide may help reduce alcohol cravings and intake, according to a clinical trial. Participants receiving the drug drank less and had fewer heavy drinking days than those on a placebo.
Semaglutide, a widely used medication known as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for obesity, may also help reduce alcohol intake, according to new research. The study was led by Christian Hendershot, PhD, a professor of Population and Public Health Sciences and director of Clinical Research at the USC Institute for Addiction Science, along with Klara Klein, MD, PhD, an assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the UNC School of Medicine.
Published in JAMA Psychiatry, the study found that weekly semaglutide injections significantly reduced alcohol cravings, consumption, and the frequency of heavy drinking days compared to a placebo. Participants receiving semaglutide also consumed less alcohol in a controlled laboratory setting, as measured by grams of alcohol consumed and breath alcohol concentration.
These findings highlight a potential breakthrough in treating alcohol use disorder (AUD), a condition that contributes to approximately 178,000 deaths per year in the U.S. Excessive alcohol use is a major risk factor for liver disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, according to the U.S. Surgeon General. Despite the widespread impact of AUD, few individuals seek or receive treatment, and the three FDA-approved medications for AUD remain underutilized.
Given the widespread use and popularity of GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic, incorporating them into AUD treatment could increase accessibility and adoption, potentially addressing a critical gap in care.
The Clinical Trial
For the trial, researchers recruited 48 adults diagnosed with alcohol use disorder who were not actively seeking treatment. Alcohol use disorder is characterized by an impaired ability to control alcohol consumption despite negative consequences.
One week before receiving the first injection, participants were invited to a controlled laboratory setting designed for comfort. Over a two-hour period, they were allowed to consume their preferred alcoholic beverages, with the option to delay drinking if they chose. Researchers carefully recorded both the timing of any delays and the total amount of alcohol consumed.
Participants were then randomly assigned to receive weekly injections of Ozempic or a placebo for nine weeks, during which time their weekly drinking patterns were also measured. Afterward, participants and researchers returned to the drinking lab to repeat the process.
Results showed that after treatment, those in the semaglutide group consumed lower amounts of alcohol in the laboratory, as measured by grams of alcohol consumed and breath alcohol concentration.
Clinical assessments also indicated that semaglutide (compared to placebo injections) reduced weekly alcohol craving, reduced average drinks on drinking days, and led to greater reductions in heavy drinking days, relative to placebo. A key finding was that the magnitude of semaglutide’s effects on several drinking outcomes appeared potentially greater than is often seen in similar studies with existing AUD medications, even though semaglutide was only administered at the lowest clinical doses.
Among a small subgroup of participants who smoked cigarettes at baseline, those treated with semaglutide had significantly greater reductions in average cigarettes per day compared to those in the placebo group. This finding is potentially important because there are no medications currently approved for both alcohol reduction and smoking cessation.
“The first clinical trial testing the impact of an older GLP-1 receptor agonist on alcohol use in humans was inconclusive,” said Klein. “However, as prescription of semaglutide and similar medications escalated, anecdotal reports of reduced alcohol use became very common, and suggested the potential of these more potent therapies for treatment of alcohol use disorder.”
Research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which GLP-1 receptor agonists reduce alcohol cravings. Dr. Klein says that preclinical studies suggest that these effects are likely mediated in the brain and involve changes in reward processing.
Although exciting, these data are preliminary and there is a need to learn more. As clinical use of this medication increases, the findings call for additional studies to evaluate the long-term effect on alcohol consumption, and the ideal doses and treatment durations, which may be different from the current recommendations for people living with diabetes and obesity.
“These data suggest the potential of semaglutide and similar drugs to fill an unmet need for the treatment of alcohol use disorder,” said Klein. “Larger and longer studies in broader populations are needed to fully understand the safety and efficacy in people with alcohol use disorder, but these initial findings are promising.”
Reference: “Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults With Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial” by Christian S. Hendershot, Michael P. Bremmer, Michael B. Paladino, Georgios Kostantinis, Thomas A. Gilmore, Neil R. Sullivan, Amanda C. Tow, Sarah S. Dermody, Mark A. Prince, Robyn Jordan, Sherry A. McKee, Paul J. Fletcher, Eric D. Claus and Klara R. Klein, 12 February 2025, JAMA Psychiatry.
DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.4789
This research was supported by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism grant R21AA026931.
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1 Comment
It could also help you die sooner, but nvm.