Sept. 26, 2024 – Obesity. Diabetes. Addiction.
New research suggests that one drug may help people battling all three.
Semaglutide, a popular weight loss drug sold under brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, is well established for helping people manage type 2 diabetes and lose weight. But people taking the medication may also be at a lower risk of opioid overdose. Prescriptions for the drug were linked to lower overdose rates among patients with both diabetes and opioid use disorder, according to a new study analyzing more than 33,000 patient medical records.
“We already have so many patients who take semaglutide for diabetes or obesity, and a lot of those people also might 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 latest in a growing body of research examining how semaglutide, which belongs to a broader class of drugs called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists, may alter some people’s dependence on addictive substances like nicotine, alcohol, and now opioids.
Other research shows it may help people with food addiction, diminishing “food noise” (constant background chatter in our minds about food and eating) and cravings.
The widespread prevalence of diabetes and obesity – and opioid use disorder, which affects millions of people in the U.S. and contributes to more than 80,000 American deaths each year – makes these findings vital to explore, experts said.
“It would be amazing if this drug could solve the very prolific drug abuse that we see in our patients,” said endocrinologist Sun Kim, MD, who specializes in diabetes treatment at Stanford Health Care. (Kim was not involved in the study.)
What This Means for Patients
In Kim’s experience, patients using semaglutide to lose weight and/or manage diabetes still report sugary, carb-y food cravings, but their yen for these foods is dialed way down.
“Food is very pleasurable, so it’s not a big leap to say that semaglutide can decrease intake of other things that are pleasurable,” she said.
But much more research would be needed before the drug could be prescribed to treat a substance use disorder, Kim said.
“These drugs have been revolutionary for my patients,” she said. “But for substance abuse, I don’t have the return yet of a magical story where semaglutide has turned someone’s life around – I hope it does, but we’re still waiting for those answers.”
While examining medical record data was a cost-effective first step, the goal is to get funding for clinical trials, Xu said.
Future research should compare semaglutide to medications currently used to help with opioid dependency, opioid agonists, which include buprenorphine, naloxone, and methadone, said Jonathan Watanabe, PhD, a professor of clinical pharmacy at the University of California, Irvine.
For now, patients with diabetes or obesity who have concerns about opioid addiction should talk to their doctor about what treatment may be right for them.
