Researchers find weight loss drugs may treat addictive behaviors

BOSTON - The new weight loss drugs may be able to treat more than just obesity. There is evidence they could also help treat addictive behaviors.

People with alcohol use disorder have trouble stopping or controlling their drinking even though it's having a negative impact on their lives. 

But the new injectable weight loss drugs may help.

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University followed six patients with problem drinking who were also being treated with the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy for weight loss, a drug called semaglutide.  

They found that in addition to promoting weight loss, the drug also significantly reduced their alcohol use disorder symptoms. 

In fact, all six patients appeared to have a "low risk" for drinking on follow-up testing.  

This potential "incidental" side effect will need to be tested in larger clinical trials, but scientists say the drug could become another tool to help treat people with problem drinking.

In:
• Health
• Weight Loss

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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