Popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro may lower rates of alcohol and opioid addiction, according to a ground-breaking study.
Although the results are encouraging, more investigation is required to verify the medications’ efficacy in treating addiction and to look into any possible long-term hazards.
Medications used for diabetes and weight loss, Ozempic and Mounjaro, might hold unsuspected benefits for those fighting alcohol and opiate addiction, according to a remarkable new study
The study, published online in the journal Addiction, suggests that these medications could markedly reduce the prevalence of alcohol intoxication as well as the rates of opiate overdoses.
Conducted a study involving data from over 100 US health systems over nearly a decade, discovering that in those taking these medications, alcohol intoxication decreased by 50% and opioid overdose decreased by 40% as compared to those not so treated.
According to Dr. Céline Gounder of CBS News, one of the more prominent observers of medicine, these discoveries will change the way treatment for addiction is given.
Before these medications can be used routinely for addiction, however, more research was needed, advised Gounder, who called for caution. “We need randomized clinical trials to confirm these effects and understand long-term risks,” she said, mentioning potential problems like kidney problems and pancreatitis, and even suicidal thoughts.
Despite these promising results for the treatment of addiction, they also stress in an even greater manner the careful weighing of hazards.
In the future, although the use of such medications may increase, research is needed to ensure patient safety.
