Semaglutide injections reduced the amount of alcohol people drank in the lab setting, the study found, “with evidence of medium to large effect sizes for grams of alcohol consumed”.
Now the first clinical trial of its kind has found that semaglutide, distributed under the brand name Wegovy, cut the amount of alcohol people drank by about 40% and dramatically reduced people’s desire to drink.
Weight-loss drugs could be used to help people reduce their intake of alcohol, researchers have said, after a study found they can cut cravings and curb heavy drinking.
The study’s senior author Klara Klein, from the University of North Carolina school of medicine, said: “These data suggest the potential of semaglutide and similar drugs to fill an unmet need for the treatment of alcohol use disorder.
Nearly 40% of people in the semaglutide group reported no heavy drinking days in the last month of treatment, compared with 20% in the placebo group.
