Popular weight loss drugs could help with alcohol, opioid addictions: study
Controversy surrounding diabetes drug, Ozempic, being used for weight loss
FILE - The diabetes drug, Ozempic, has been in the headlines, causing quite a stir. Senior writer for Drugwatch.com, Terry Turner, joined LiveNow in January 2024 to discuss how some people are ending up in the hospital, for misusing Ozempic as a weight loss drug.
A new study suggests that popular weight loss drugs like Ozempic can also help people with opioid or alcohol use disorder.
According to a study published in the journal Addiction, people who take Ozempic, Wegovy and other versions of semaglutide or tirzepatide for weight loss or diabetes appear to have a 40% lower rate of opioid overdose and a 50% lower rate of alcohol intoxication than those who don’t take the medications.
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How do these weight loss drugs work?
Ozempic and Wegovy are versions of semaglutide. That drug mimics a key gut hormone, known as GLP-1, which is activated after people eat, boosting the release of insulin and slowing release of sugar from the liver.
FILE - Someone injects themself with weight loss drug Ozempic (Photo by Steve Christo - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Mounjaro and Zepbound are another drug called tirzepatide. Zepbound, Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic work in similar ways to reduce appetite. But Zepbound and Mounjaro are what’s called "dual-agonist" drugs while Wegovy and Ozempic are what’s known as "single-agonist" drugs. These drugs activate important hormone pathways in the body, according to UC Health.
How could weight loss drugs help with addiction?
According to the journal Addiction, the newer weight loss medications interact with a region of the brain – the mesolimbic system – to reduce appetite and trigger satisfaction after eating. The mesolimbic system overlaps with other brain processes that govern addictive behaviors.
"This overlap suggests that [these] medications might also alter the reward-response pathways associated with substance use," the study says.
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Before this study, most of the research included animal studies and small-scale clinical trials. This new study looked at more than 500,000 people with a history of opioid use disorder. Of those, more than 8,000 had a prescription for one of the weight loss drugs. Those who had a prescription had a 40% lower rate of overdose than those without a prescription, the study found.
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The study also looked at 817,309 people with a history of alcohol use disorder. Of those, 5,621 had a prescription for one of the new weight loss medications. Those with a prescription for weight loss drugs had a 50% lower rate of alcohol intoxication than those without one, the study found.
Do these weight loss drugs have side effects?
Though the drugs appear safe, they can cause side effects, some serious. Most common reactions include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, constipation and stomach pain. Some users have developed pancreatitis or inflammation of the pancreas, others have had gallbladder problems. Mounjaro’s product description warns that it could cause thyroid tumors, including cancer.
There are other downsides: Versions of semaglutide have been on the market for several years, but the long-term effects of taking drugs that override human metabolism are not yet clear. Early evidence suggests that when people stop taking the medications, they gain the weight back.