However, findings from animal research often don’t directly translate to humans, said Christian Henderschot, an associate professor of psychiatry at the UNC School of Medicine, who is studying whether semaglutide might affect how much alcohol people with the disorder drink. Let’s use But when patient anecdotes are combined with animal data, “it’s a sign that you’re on to something,” he said.
Some human studies are underway on drugs such as alcohol and Ozempic. Researchers in Denmark (some of whom previously received research funding from Novo Nordisk, the company that makes Ozempic) recently published the results of a clinical trial looking at another GLP-1 receptor in patients with alcohol use disorder. agonists were tested. The study involved about 130 people and examined whether those who received the compound, along with cognitive behavioral therapy, drank less than those who received a placebo and therapy.
Both groups showed a reduction in alcohol consumption, but in patients diagnosed with obesity who were treated with the GLP-1 compound and therapy, it decreased dramatically compared to those who did not. who received placebo and therapy only.
The researchers also examined brain scans of some of the participants to see what would happen when they viewed pictures of alcohol; Study co-author Anders Fink-Jensen, professor of psychiatry at the University of Copenhagen, said in people who took the GLP-1 compound, “the areas of the brain associated with addiction lit up to a much smaller extent.” , More research is needed to determine how drugs like Ozempic affect alcohol consumption, but scientists say they are encouraged by the findings so far.
“There really is a dire need for new treatments for substance use disorder,” Dr. Hendershot said.
Until more definitive scientific guidance is found, people taking Ozempic sometimes continue to navigate the unpredictable ways that the drug affects them. Even some people who drank moderately before starting Ozempic find themselves abstaining from alcohol. In Clayton, Okla., 73-year-old J.J. Paul Grayson used to keep a six-pack of beer in the back of his fridge. But three months after going on Ozempic, she stopped buying alcohol except when eating out. He used to have two beers with dinner — one when he first sat down, one in the middle of the meal — but now, he said, he can barely drink the first beer.
She expected that once she started taking the drug her eating habits would change – she became less interested in fatty, sugary foods and found herself eating smaller meals – but she predicted an aversion to alcohol. Did not apply
He said, ‘This thing surprised me. “It drives you to do everything the doctors have told you your whole life.”