🍹 New study shows that Ozempic reduces alcohol consumption

• Patients who received semaglutide reduced their alcohol consumption by 30 percent, compared to 2 percent for the placebo group.
• Nearly 40 percent of participants who received semaglutide had no heavy drinking days during the second month of the study.
• The study also shows that the medication reduced alcohol cravings in patients with alcohol use disorder.

Significant reduction in alcohol intake

A new study from the University of North Carolina confirms what many users of the diabetes medication semaglutide (known as Ozempic or Wegovy) have reported anecdotally - a reduced desire for alcohol.

The researchers, led by psychiatrist Christian Hendershot, conducted a phase 2 clinical trial with 48 patients who met the diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder but were not seeking treatment. The participants were on average about 40 years old.

The study showed that weekly injections of semaglutide led to a dramatic reduction of 30 percent in alcohol consumption per drinking day, compared to a reduction of only 2 percent for those who received placebo.

Fewer days of heavy drinking

The study participants had a drinking history of more than 7 drinks per week for women or 14 for men over the past month, including at least two episodes of heavy drinking.

Over nine weeks, participants received either semaglutide or placebo once a week and were then asked to log their alcohol cravings and consumption.

While the total number of drinking days did not change significantly during the study, nearly 40 percent of participants in the semaglutide group had no heavy drinking days during the second month, compared to 20 percent in the placebo group.

"Semaglutide significantly reduced alcohol craving and drinks per drinking day," Hendershot and his team wrote in their report.

Potential for treatment of alcohol use disorder

These results could potentially be life-changing for the nearly 30 million people in the US suffering from alcohol use disorder.

Endocrinologist Klara Klein from the University of North Carolina says: "These data suggest the potential of semaglutide and similar drugs to fill an unmet need for the treatment of alcohol use disorder"

The researchers also noted a reduction in smoking, although this was observed in a very small subgroup of only seven people in the placebo group and six in the treatment group.

It is important to note that patients in the study had up to moderate levels of alcohol use disorder, so the results may not translate to people with higher consumption levels. However, the results support further research in this area.

Semaglutide has shown potential for several other medical conditions. Studies in animals or humans have shown that it may help people with osteoarthritis, fatty liver disease, dementia, kidney disease, and other addiction conditions.

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