Topline Ozempic may lower the risk of opioid overdose in patients with Type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests, the latest research to find a positive connection between the diabetes drug and another unrelated condition. Key Facts Why Does Semaglutide Help With Addiction? The JAMA researchers don’t know the connection between semaglutide and opioid use disorder, and believe further research is needed in order to understand it. Semaglutide was also found to help curb alcoholism .
Patients taking the drug with alcohol use disorder reported less urges to drink. Semaglutide is a part of a class of drugs called glucagon-like peptide-1 ( GLP-1 ) receptor agonists, and they’re used to treat diabetes and weight loss by interacting with the hunger part of the brain to suppress the appetite, and lowering blood sugar and A1C. The drugs also replicate the effects of the GLP-1 hormone, which is a part of the reward pathways in the brain that drive people to participate in pleasurable activities like eating food.
That explains why the drugs help people lose weight, but researchers believe that might also explain the drugs’ effect on people with drug and alcohol use disorders, according to Science Adviser. “Parts of the brain that drive eating behaviors overlap extensively with the drive to use alcohol or other substances,” Dr. Lorenzo Leggio and Dr.
Leandro Vendruscolo, chief scientists with the National Institute on Alcohol Use and Alcoholism, and the National Institute on Drug Ab.