One more reason for the trial’s failure might be that exenatide is way much less potent than its newer cousin semaglutide, higher referred to as Ozempic. Now that Ozempic is in all places, anecdotal proof is mounting that these medication cut back cravings not only for meals, however for on-line procuring, smoking, nail-biting, and alcohol.
Now, the primary empirical proof to help the concept that medication like Ozempic might be an efficient remedy for AUD is starting to seem. This week, a new paper revealed within the Journal of Scientific Psychiatry strengthened the case. The paper relayed a collection of case research: six sufferers who had been prescribed semaglutide for weight reduction, however who additionally certified for having AUD. All six of the contributors displayed considerably lowered signs of AUD—even those that had achieved minimal weight reduction.
This small research is just the start. The authors are additionally working a medical trial in Tulsa, Oklahoma, taking a look at semaglutide to deal with AUD; a sister research is being carried out in Baltimore, Maryland. It’ll be no less than a yr and a half earlier than these trials have publishable knowledge, so this case collection was finished with a view to set the desk for the medical trial knowledge, say research authors Kyle Simmons, professor of pharmacology and physiology at Oklahoma State College, and Jesse Richards, assistant professor of medication on the College of Oklahoma. (Richards receives fee from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, who make GLP-1 receptor agonist medication, to talk at conferences.)
Whereas scientists aren’t sure how these medication work to dampen alcohol cravings, it’s suspected to work on the identical pathways that produce a shrunken urge for food. A thirst for booze is considered pushed by the rewarding properties that alcohol produces, delivered by a bump of dopamine launched within the mind. Over time, that dopamine flurry reinforces a need for alcohol.
GLP-1 receptors are discovered dotted across the physique, together with within the mind constructions that management our reward pathways. These receptors management the discharge of the hormone GLP-1, which has a mess of roles to play within the physique, together with how we reply to alcohol.
What medication like semaglutide, which mimic the actions of GLP-1, appear to do is decrease the quantity of the substance required—like meals or alcohol—to really feel satiated. Richards says some sufferers report going to an occasion the place they’d usually anticipate to drink loads, like a sports activities recreation or a fishing journey, “and as an alternative of consuming their regular quantity, they might drink one drink, after which sort of get bored and neglect about it,” he says.
