Initially developed to manage diabetes, Ozempic has been prescribed lately by medical doctors for weight reduction .. and it’s brought about it’s justifiable share of controversy. However do you know that lately Ozempic has been utilized in trials to deal with one other frequent and regarding situation – and the outcomes have been nothing wanting spectacular!
Ozempic as a remedy for dependancy
Ozempic works by stimulating the manufacturing of insulin to maintain blood sugar ranges in test. It additionally reduces urge for food and yearning for meals, which is why it’s now used for weight reduction. Nevertheless, Ozempic may cut back the need to drink, smoke or take different medicine, with many Ozempic customers reporting they not crave alcohol or different medicine whereas taking the medicine.
And it’s all right down to Ozempic’s energetic ingredient, Semaglutide, which works on glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors, often called a “GLP-1 agonist”.
Ozempic lower in cravings for alcohol and meals
US girl Megan Johnston instructed 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 customary drinks every week to a median of three customary 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 individuals with 1 in 4 admitting to consuming extra now than earlier than the pandemic.
The rise in alcohol consumption continues to be a serious downside. In accordance 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 medicine is protected and efficient for treating dependancy, simply by dint of how many individuals are already taking these medicines for different functions, this is able to grow to be actually the most important and most generally used pharmacotherapy for dependancy drugs that’s ever been developed.”
There are already medicines accessible to deal with alcohol dependancy which embrace acamprosate (Cambral), naltrexone and disultiram (Antabuse) however they’re ‘”not often prescribed” in keeping with the NIH.
Ozempic dependancy remedy research underway
With Semaglutide taking away the rewarding worth of medicine, on prime of the present scientific trials underway, there have additionally been research in animals to find out if this may be an possibility for dependancy remedy too.
Up to now in animal research, each rodents and monkeys responded very positively to Semaglutide as a remedy for dependancy.
Human trials, nonetheless, haven’t been fairly as clear.
In a single examine of 127 individuals, each these taking a GLP-1 agonist and people taking the placebo drug decreased their consuming for the brief time period.
There was no distinction between the GLP-1 agonist and the placebo.
The examine 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 examine discovered that the GLP-1 agonist dulaglutide didn’t assist to scale back smoking but it surely did assist cut back alcohol consumption. Over 90 per cent of individuals on this examine additionally had weight problems.
There have additionally been smaller research GLP-1 agonists as a remedy for cocaine and opioid dependancy with combined 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 medicine is protected and efficient for the remedy of alcohol use dysfunction.”
Ozempic comes with a large threat of negative effects.
Along with taking away meals and doubtlessly alcohol cravings, it could actually additionally trigger nausea, abdomen ache, constipation, diarrhea and vomiting.
Rarer however extra severe negative 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 medicine may have an effect on individuals after long-term use.
