Initially developed to regulate diabetes, Ozempic has been prescribed in recent times by medical doctors for weight reduction .. and it’s brought on it’s fair proportion of controversy. However do you know that not too long ago Ozempic has been utilized in trials to deal with one other widespread and regarding situation – and the outcomes have been nothing in need of spectacular!
Ozempic as a remedy for dependancy
Ozempic works by stimulating the manufacturing of insulin to maintain blood sugar ranges in examine. It additionally reduces urge for food and longing for meals, which is why it’s now used for weight reduction. Nonetheless, Ozempic can also scale back the need to drink, smoke or take different medication, with many Ozempic customers reporting they not crave alcohol or different medication whereas taking the remedy.
And it’s all right down to Ozempic’s lively ingredient, Semaglutide, which works on glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors, generally known as a “GLP-1 agonist”.
Ozempic lower in cravings for alcohol and meals
US lady Megan Johnston informed CBS Information that since beginning the drug for weight reduction seven months in the past, not solely has she misplaced 45 lbs (20.4 kg), she has gone from round 15 normal drinks every week to a mean of three normal drinks per week.
Like many, Megan admits that she gained extra weight and began consuming extra for the reason that pandemic. That is one thing that has impacted a lot of folks with 1 in 4 admitting to consuming extra now than earlier than the pandemic.
The rise in alcohol consumption continues to be a significant downside. In keeping with HealthDirect, 1 in 4 Australians drink alcohol at dangerous ranges and 1 in 20 Australians has an dependancy or substance abuse downside.
Longing for Ozempic as an dependancy remedy
Kyle Simmons, the director of Oklahoma State College’s Biomedical Imaging Middle may be very hopeful about Ozempic getting used to deal with dependancy.
“If it seems that this remedy is secure and efficient for treating dependancy, simply by dint of how many individuals are already taking these medicines for different functions, this is able to change into actually the biggest and most generally used pharmacotherapy for dependancy drugs that’s ever been developed.”
There are already medicines obtainable to deal with alcohol dependancy which embrace acamprosate (Cambral), naltrexone and disultiram (Antabuse) however they’re ‘”not often prescribed” in response to the NIH.
Ozempic dependancy remedy research underway
With Semaglutide taking away the rewarding worth of medication, on high of the prevailing medical trials underway, there have additionally been research in animals to find out if this may be an possibility for dependancy remedy too.
Thus far in animal research, each rodents and monkeys responded very positively to Semaglutide as a remedy for dependancy.
Human trials, nevertheless, haven’t been fairly as clear.
In a single research of 127 folks, each these taking a GLP-1 agonist and people taking the placebo drug lowered their consuming for the quick time period.
There was no distinction between the GLP-1 agonist and the placebo.
The research additionally concluded that the remedy could also be depending on weight. Clinicians discovered there was a discount in consuming for individuals who had each alcohol use issues and weight problems, however not in those that began at a standard weight of BMI lower than 30.
One other research discovered that the GLP-1 agonist dulaglutide didn’t assist to cut back smoking but it surely did assist scale back alcohol consumption. Over 90 per cent of individuals on this research additionally had weight problems.
There have additionally been smaller research GLP-1 agonists as a remedy for cocaine and opioid dependancy with blended outcomes.
Whereas the drug impacts the mind and seems to take away the pleasure acquired from consuming alcohol, Kyle Simmons admits there must be much more analysis.
“We simply don’t know but whether or not or not the remedy is secure and efficient for the remedy of alcohol use dysfunction.”
Ozempic comes with a large threat of uncomfortable side effects.
Along with taking away meals and doubtlessly alcohol cravings, it could additionally trigger nausea, abdomen ache, constipation, diarrhea and vomiting.
Rarer however extra severe uncomfortable side effects of Ozempic might embrace thyroid tumours, pancreatitis, adjustments in imaginative and prescient, hypoglycemia, gallbladder points, kidney failure and most cancers.
It’s additionally unclear how these medication would possibly have an effect on folks after long-term use.
