RCT: Semaglutide reduces alcohol craving and consumption

Abstract

A randomized clinical trial found that once-weekly semaglutide reduced the amount of alcohol consumed over 9 weeks of treatment. A drug originally developed to treat diabetes and now commonly used to treat obesity, semaglutide has for years held promise as a treatment for alchool use disorder (AUD) (see ADAW https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.34157). Just as semaglutide reduces the appetite for food, it can reduce craving for alcohol. The researchers also found that people with AUD who also smoked had greater reductions in smoking as well as in drinking. Participants received 0.25 mg/week for 4 weeks, 0.5 mg/week for 4 weeks, and 1.0 mg for 1 week, or placebo at weekly clinic visits.