A class of powerful drugs can dramatically change people’s body weight. But one of the drugs’ most alluring jobs may happen in a spot that’s harder to see: the brain.
These reports point to the possibility that these drugs, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for type 2 diabetes and obesity, may be repurposed as desperately needed treatments for substance use disorders.[Seealso:[Seealso:Semaglutide FAQ ]
That hope sounds like a long shot. But the idea has merit, some researchers think, and that conclusion isn’t based solely on anecdotes. Semaglutide’s potential to reduce a person’s drive for alcohol, tobacco and even opioids comes as no surprise to some addiction researchers, who have been studying earlier cousins of semaglutide for their role in reward-seeking.
“It’s safe to say that the degree of clinical and anecdotal evidence that’s come out recently is fairly unprecedented,” says Christian Hendershot, a clinical psychologist at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. “So that’s a reason for some optimism and for really wanting to move this area of clinical research forward.”
2023-08-30 09:00:00
Link from www.sciencenews.org