GLP-1 medications that revolutionized weight loss may also blunt cravings for alcohol, opioids, and nicotine. Early evidence suggests they could transform how addiction is treated. Credit: Shutterstock
A promising group of medications already used to treat diabetes and obesity may also hold potential for tackling alcohol and drug addiction, according to a new study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.
These drugs, called Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1RAs), could represent a hopeful new direction for addressing alcohol and other substance use disorders.
“Early research in both animals and humans suggests that these treatments may help reduce alcohol and other substance use,” said lead researcher Lorenzo Leggio, M.D., Ph.D., of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), both part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md. “Some small clinical trials have also shown encouraging results.”