Weight-loss drugs might help people battle addictions Alcoholics taking GLP-1 drugs had a 50% lower rate of intoxication Opioid users taking the drugs had a 40% lower risk of overdose THURSDAY, Oct. 17, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Weight-loss and diabetes drugs like , Wegovy, Mounjaro or Zepbound appear to help people battle alcoholism and opioid addiction, a new study finds. People taking this class of drugs, called glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1), have a 50% lower rate of drunkenness than people with addiction disorders not on the meds, researchers reported Oct.
17 in the journal . GLP-1 patients also have a 40% lower rate of opioid overdose, results show. GLP-1 drugs “exhibited a strong protective association with alcohol intoxication among those with alcohol use disorder,” concluded the research team led by , an associate professor of biostatistics at Loyola University in Chicago.
“Related prescriptions additionally displayed a strong protective association with opioid overdose among individuals with opioid use disorder,” the researchers added in a journal news release. GLP-1 drugs promote weight loss by mimicking a hormone produced in response to eating. Taking the drug helps stabilize blood sugar levels, decrease feelings of hunger and slow digestion, researchers noted.
The brain region targeted by GLP-1 “overlaps with the same processes that are responsible for the development and maintenance of addictive behaviors such as chronic substance use.