United States: The GLP-1 blockbuster drug semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) may stop people with alcohol use disorder from drinking and prevent life events that cause hospitalization, research reveals.
More about the news
Many previous papers suggested that semaglutide may work directly on the appetite centers of the brain to address the desire to drink as it does the desire to eat.
However, Finnish researchers say people with alcohol use disorder who are on semaglutide were followed for about nearly nine years in Sweden, have a 36 percent lower chance of having to be hospitalized.
Another member of the same class of GLP-1 medication, liraglutide (Victoza), was associated with a 28 percent decreased odds of hospitalization, the team further noted in the JAMA Psychiatry on November 13.
The findings presented in the study, although they could not cause and effect, only associations.
Based on the present and previous findings, the researchers state that “clinical trials are urgently needed to confirm these findings,” US News reported.
The study was conducted by Dr.M Lähteenvuo, a doctor tor at the University of Eastern Finland.
What more have the experts stated?
In addition to confirming that semaglutide and liraglutide appeared to assist people with alcohol use disorder to avoid being hospitalized, the study also determined that semaglutide was associated with a reduced risk of suicide.
The same authors also found the two GLP-1 drugs seemed to be more effective at reducing hospitalization among people with alcohol use disorder than conventional medications such as naltrexone, disulfiram, and acamprosate, which require additional confirmations.
Additionally, the team of Finnish group of experts found that better treatments for AUD are urgently needed “because existing treatments may not be suitable for all patients.”