Researchers at Loyola University Chicago have found new evidence that Ozempic, a popular diabetes drug, might also help treat substance abuse.
The study suggests that people who use medications like Ozempic are less likely to drink alcohol or use drugs.
Ozempic works by mimicking a hormone in the body that helps people feel full and eat less, originally used to treat diabetes and help with weight loss. But now, scientists believe it could also lower the chances of drug or alcohol addiction.
The new research shows that people with opioid use disorder who took a GLP-1 drug like Ozempic had a 40% lower chance of overdosing compared to those who did not take the drug.
For people with alcohol use disorder, the study found that their drinking was cut in half when they took the medication.
The findings were published in the journal “Addiction,” and the study involved over 1.3 million participants, including nearly 14,000 people using Ozempic or a similar drug.
Experts say that Ozempic and similar drugs may affect parts of the brain that control cravings and addiction, making it easier for people to stop using substances.
Ozempic was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017 to treat Type 2 diabetes. It has since become popular for weight loss, and now researchers are looking into other ways the drug might be helpful, such as treating heart disease and skin problems.
A woman from Las Vegas, Christie Martin, shared on “Good Morning America” that she lost her desire to drink wine after starting Ozempic injections.
“I have no desire to drink wine anymore and that’s crazy to me because I couldn’t stop before,” she said.
The study adds to the growing research on how Ozempic could change how doctors treat substance abuse.
NYT
