GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, were originally intended to treat diabetes — and didn’t become blockbuster prescriptions until doctors realized that they were also potent weight loss aids that seem to re-wire patients’ relationship to food and satiety.
Since then, it’s slowly been emerging that they have another surprising effect: many users report less of a desire to throw back as many drinks as they did before starting the injections. Indeed, several small studies have found promising evidence that the drugs indeed curb cravings for alcohol, cigarettes, and even opioids, meaning they also hold promise to treat a range of addiction disorders.
Exactly why remains hazy, though. It’s generally established that GLP-1s target the brain’s dopamine reward system, but scientists are still working to understand the exact mechanism.
Adding to the complexity is that the drugs make other changes to the body’s functioning that could interact with substance use in complex ways. Take a new paper published in the journal Scientific Reports by Virginia Tech researchers this week, for instance, which found that GLP-1s appear to physically change the way our bodies process alcohol.
In the study, participants drank three alcoholic drinks over the course of an hour while researchers tracked their blood alcohol, glucose, and vital signs. Compared to non-users, the the participants on GLP-1s reported feeling less drunk overall — and had the readings to prove it: their blood alcohol level rose more slowly, meaning the buzz was delayed and less significant.
It’s not hard to imagine why. GLP-1s are known to slow gastric emptying of the stomach, which could likely result in alcohol reaching the bloodstream more slowly. But it once again shows how nuanced these drugs’ effects on our bodies and minds is: it may well be that an injection like semaglutide is both changing the neurological reward associated with alcohol, while simultaneously changing the way your stomach and gut processes a drink.
Exactly how the latest finding affects doctors’ understanding of GLP-1 as a tool to fight addiction is hard to say — and the test group was small, at only 20 subjects, so further research is needed — but a sharper picture is slowly coming into focus.
“Why would this matter? Faster-acting drugs have a higher abuse potential,” said Alex DiFeliceantonio, a Virginia Tech neuroscientist who worked on the study, in a blurb about the research. “They have a different impact on the brain. So if GLP-1s slow alcohol entering the bloodstream, they could reduce the effects of alcohol and help people drink less.”
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