Weight-loss jab ‘better and cheaper’ than rehab for drug addiction
WEIGHT-LOSS jabs could be a more effective and cheaper treatment for drug addiction than rehab, a study suggests.
Wegovy, the brand name for semaglutide when used to treat obesity, and similar drugs are known as GLP-1 agonists and trigger feelings of satiety and satisfaction. They were originally designed to treat Type 2 diabetes and Wegovy is known as Ozempic when being used for diabetic patients.
The jabs are now increasingly used as a weight-loss tool, but scientists are also looking at them as a route to combat other forms of addiction.
In the study, opiate addicts given liraglutide – which works in the same way as Wegovy but must be taken more frequently and is cheaper – reported 40 per cent fewer cravings to get high when compared to a control group.
Scientists say the reduction in urges while using liraglutide, marketed as Saxenda for weight loss, was seen almost immediately. The effect was similar in potency to visiting a residential addiction centre, which can cost upwards of $1,000 (£800) a day.
In the US, where the trial was held, liraglutide costs about $300 for a month, about 100 times less than a high-end rehab clinic. The scientists say using drugs containing semaglutide such as Wegovy will likely be more effective, more convenient and have fewer side-effects.
The 20-person study from Penn State University is the first of its kind and was revealed at the AAAS Annual Conference in Denver.
The participants had mostly been addicted to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. The study is the first to look at using a GLP-1 drug to treat opioid addiction. It found that some of those who used the diet drug experienced periods in which they reported being entirely free of craving opioids – something not seen in the control group.
Prof Sue Grigson, the director of the addiction centre at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, who co-led the research, said this was a surprising result. “We thought if the Ozempic-type drugs help people to feel less hungry or less motivated to eat food, they could help people feel less motivated to take drugs,” she said.
“People in the trial had significantly less cravings and they were more likely to experience zero cravings. We felt that was a very positive thing.
“This work started because of the huge increase in overdose deaths due to opioids, which have accelerated following Covid. In the United States, we’ve lost over 112,000 people this past year – that’s one person every five minutes.”
“We have a real sense of urgency as a consequence of that. Some of us on the research team have lost people – that pushes us.”
The findings add to a growing body of research indicating GLP-1 drugs have a range of potential uses, including lowering blood pressure and weight loss.
Prof Grigson says that there is also reason to believe, based on animal studies, that the GLP-1 drugs could help people stop smoking by combating nicotine addiction.
During the trial, participants were asked a set of questions four times a day, via their smartphones, including whether they were feeling an urge to use drugs. Cravings were measured on a four-point scale. The average for the control group was 1.5. For those given liraglutide it was 0.92.
Dr Scott Bunce, an associate professor of psychiatry at Penn State University, who also co-led the study, said: “That amount of reduction is the equivalent of spending two weeks in a very high-quality treatment centre, which would cost around $15,000.”