Newswise — Semaglutide, marketed as Ozempic, is in high demand due to its approval for obesity treatment, leading to challenges in its procurement. Patients with obesity or diabetes have reported reduced alcohol cravings after initiating this medication, as per anecdotal accounts.
Currently, individuals struggling with alcohol addiction receive a blend of diverse psychosocial approaches and medicines for their treatment. There exist four sanctioned drugs for this purpose. Given that alcohol addiction stems from multiple factors, the effectiveness of these drugs differs, emphasizing the need to formulate supplementary therapeutic medications.
Reduced relapses
Semaglutide is a once-weekly, extended-release compound. It represents the inaugural tablet-based medication targeting the GLP-1 receptor.
The findings of the research are featured in the scientific journal eBioMedicine. The study involved administering semaglutide to alcohol-dependent rats, resulting in a notable decrease in their alcohol intake and a reduction in alcohol consumption during relapses. Relapses present a significant challenge for individuals grappling with alcohol dependence, as they often involve a resumption of drinking at higher levels than prior to withdrawal.
During the study, the rats that received treatment with semaglutide exhibited a 50% reduction in their alcohol consumption compared to the untreated animals. An intriguing discovery from the research was that semaglutide demonstrated an equal reduction in alcohol intake in both male and female rats.
Animals and humans
The study highlights a remarkably positive impact; however, before the medication can be employed for alcohol dependence, it necessitates further clinical investigations, which are time-consuming. In the future, the medication may prove particularly advantageous for patients contending with both obesity and alcohol dependence. The researchers believe that these findings are likely to translate to humans, as previous studies on alcohol dependency medications using the same research model have exhibited similar effects in both rats and humans.
Elisabet Jerlhag, a pharmacology professor at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, acknowledges that disparities exist between conducting studies on animals and humans, and it is crucial to consider these distinctions. However, she points out that a prior study involving humans revealed that an earlier version of GLP-1-based diabetes medications successfully decreased alcohol consumption in overweight individuals with alcohol dependence.
Mechanisms in the brain
The recent study delved into the mechanism behind the medication's reduction of alcohol consumption. The findings suggest that a potential factor is the diminished rewarding effects of alcohol. Specifically, semaglutide was observed to influence the brain's reward system, particularly the nucleus accumbens, a region within the limbic system, in mice.
Cajsa Aranäs, the doctoral student responsible for a significant portion of the study's work at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, explains that alcohol triggers the brain's reward system, leading to the release of dopamine, a phenomenon observed in both humans and animals. In the case of mice, the medication blocked this process, which the researchers interpret as a potential cause for the reduction in alcohol-induced reward.
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