A recent study led by Christian Hendershot and his team at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles presents promising results for the use of semaglutide in reducing alcohol consumption. The study, involving 48 adults diagnosed with alcohol use disorder, explored the effects of weekly semaglutide injections compared to a placebo. Over a nine-week period, researchers assessed participants' drinking habits, marking the first clinical trial to investigate semaglutide as a potential treatment for alcohol use disorder.
Participants were randomly assigned to receive either semaglutide or a placebo, with neither group actively seeking treatment for their alcohol use disorder. Researchers conducted lab-based drinking sessions at both the commencement and conclusion of the treatment period. In these sessions, participants were offered their preferred alcoholic beverages. At the end of the experiment, those receiving placebo consumed an average of 59.5 grams of alcohol, whereas individuals on semaglutide consumed significantly less, averaging 30.6 grams.
To contextualize these findings, a standard 12-ounce can of beer contains about 14 grams of alcohol. This suggests that participants on semaglutide drank approximately half as much alcohol as those on the placebo. Moreover, in the latter half of the study, individuals on semaglutide reported drinking roughly 30 percent fewer drinks on days they consumed alcohol compared to their baseline habits.
The implications of these findings are particularly significant given that alcohol use disorder is estimated to have affected nearly 29 percent of U.S. adults at some point in their lives. The study's results highlight semaglutide, commercially known as Ozempic and Wegovy, as a potential treatment option for problematic alcohol use. This could open new avenues for individuals struggling with alcohol use disorder and seeking alternative therapeutic measures.
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