"Last April, neuroscientist Sue Grigson received an e-mail from a man detailing his years-long struggle to kick addiction - first to opioids, and then to the very medication meant to help him quit. The man had stumbled on research by Grigson, suggesting that certain anti-obesity medications could help to reduce rats' addiction to drugs such as heroin and fentanyl. He decided to try quitting again, this time while taking semaglutide, the blockbuster GLP-1 drug better known as Ozempic."
"They describe people taking diabetes and weight-loss drugs such as semaglutide (also marketed as Wegovy) and tirzepatide (sold as Mounjaro or Zepbound) who find themselves suddenly able to shake long-standing addictions to cigarettes, alcohol and other drugs. And now, clinical data are starting to back them up. Earlier this year, a team led by Christian Hendershot, a psychologist now at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, reported in a landmark randomized trial that weekly injections of semaglutide cut alcohol consumption - a key demonstration that GLP-1 drugs can alter addictive behaviour in people with a substance-use disorder."
Clinical and anecdotal reports indicate that GLP-1 receptor agonists used for diabetes and weight loss, such as semaglutide and tirzepatide, reduce cravings and addictive behaviours for alcohol, opioids, nicotine and stimulants. A randomized trial found weekly semaglutide injections lowered alcohol consumption among people with a substance-use disorder. More than a dozen randomized clinical studies are underway worldwide testing GLP-1 drugs for addiction, with some results expected soon. Neuroscience studies show these drugs act on hormone receptors in brain regions controlling craving, reward and motivation, engaging pathways that overlap with those that suppress hunger and food-related urges.
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