Oral Semaglutide Cuts Heavy Drinking in 50-Patient Alcohol Use Disorder Trial
Updated
Updated · Forbes · Jul 30
Oral Semaglutide Cuts Heavy Drinking in 50-Patient Alcohol Use Disorder Trial
3 articles · Updated · Forbes · Jul 30
Summary
An eight-week University of Colorado Anschutz trial found oral semaglutide reduced heavy drinking days in 50 adults with moderate-to-severe alcohol use disorder, while also lowering alcohol intake, cravings and alcohol-related problems.
The pill was generally well tolerated, showed high adherence and was also linked to lower cannabis use, supporting researchers' view that an oral form may be more acceptable than injections for this patient group.
Only 3 FDA-approved medications exist for alcohol use disorder, and none has been newly approved since 2006, leaving a condition that affected 27.9 million Americans ages 12 and older in the past year chronically undertreated.
Larger, longer-term studies are now planned to confirm the findings and determine the best semaglutide dosing for alcohol use disorder.