According to the results of a new study, the drug semaglutide, also known as Ozempic and Wegovy, could also help to reduce alcohol cravings and consumption. Specifically, the results of the study demonstrated that weekly injections of semaglutide decreased alcohol cravings, as well as the quantity of alcohol consumed and the frequency of heavy drinking in adults with symptoms of alcohol use disorder (AUD).

“This is such promising data. And we need more of it,” said Dr. Klara Klein, professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and the study’s senior author, in a press release. “We frequently will hear that once people start these medications that their desire to drink is very reduced, if not completely abolished.”

The research, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, revealed that semaglutide administration reduced the amount consumed by study participants by approximately 40%. “These data suggest the potential of semaglutide and similar drugs to fill an unmet need for the treatment of alcohol use disorder,” added Dr. Klein. “Larger and longer studies in broader populations are needed to fully understand the safety and efficacy in people with alcohol use disorder, but these initial findings are promising.”

Semaglutide mimics the action of the hormone GLP-1 which is secreted by the intestines after eating food and sends satiety signals to the brain, helping to regulate. The research conducted in the study was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, which is part of the National Institutes of Health.

“This is a small study, but an exciting one. It provides evidence that semaglutide treatment can reduce alcohol consumption, similar to how it has been shown to reduce food consumption and consequently body weight. The likely mechanistic pathway is by dampening brain cues that prompt an individual to crave both food and alcohol,” said Dr. Stephen Burgess professor at the University of Cambridge, in his interview with The Guardian.