September 26, 2024 – Obesity. Diabetes. Seeks.
New research suggests one drug may help people combat all three.
Semaglutide, a preferred weight reduction drug sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, has been proven to assist people manage type 2 diabetes and drop some pounds. However, people taking the medication might also be at lower risk of an opioid overdose. Prescriptions of the drug were related to lower overdose rates in patients with diabetes and opioid use disorder, in response to a study new study Analysis of greater than 33,000 patient files.
“We already have so many patients taking semaglutide for diabetes or obesity, and many of these people may also be taking opioids for pain,” said study co-author Rong Xu, PhD, a professor of biomedical informatics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
The study is the newest in a growing body of research examining how semaglutide, which belongs to a broader class of medication called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists, can reduce some people's addiction to addictive substances can change nicotine, alcoholand now opioids.
Other research shows it may help people food addictionReducing “food noise” (constant background chatter in our minds about food and eating) and food cravings.
The widespread prevalence of diabetes and obesity – and opioid use disorder, which affects millions of people within the USA and contributes to this more than 80,000 The variety of American deaths every year makes these findings crucial to research, experts said.
“It would be amazing if this drug could solve the very common drug abuse that we see in our patients,” said endocrinologist Sun Kim, MD, who makes a speciality of the treatment of diabetes at Stanford Health Care. (Kim was not involved within the study.)
What this implies for patients
In Kim's experience, patients who use semaglutide to drop some pounds and/or manage diabetes still report cravings for sugary, carbohydrate-rich foods, but their appetite for these foods is greatly reduced.
“Food is very pleasurable, so it's not a big leap to say that semaglutide can reduce the intake of other pleasurable things,” she said.
However, far more research is required before the drug will be prescribed to treat substance use disorder, Kim said.
“These medications have been revolutionary for my patients,” she said. “But when it comes to substance abuse, I don't yet have the return of some magical story where semaglutide changed someone's life – I hope it does, but we're still waiting for those answers.”
While examining medical record data is a cheap first step, the goal is to acquire funding for clinical trials, Xu said.
Future research should compare semaglutide to medications currently used to treat opioid addiction, namely opioid agonists, which include buprenorphine, naloxone and methadone, said Jonathan Watanabe, PhD, professor of clinical pharmacy on the University of California, Irvine.
For now, patients with diabetes or obesity who’re concerned about opioid addiction should talk over with their doctor about what treatment is perhaps right for them.