Medications used to treat diabetes and obesity may also show promise in reducing opioid cravings, recently released research suggests. The small study found that people with opioid use disorder who took the GLP-1 drug liraglutide reported noticeably fewer cravings afterward. The findings are the latest to indicate that GLP-1 drugs can help control addictive behaviors, but much more data will be needed to confirm their effectiveness.
The research was presented this weekend at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual conference. It involved 20 people diagnosed with opioid use disorder who were receiving in-patient care at the Caron Treatment Center in Wernersville, Pennsylvania. Some of the patients received liraglutide, either alone or in combination with buprenorphine, an approved treatment for opioid use disorder, and then were tracked for the next three weeks.
During that time period, people taking liraglutide reported 30% fewer cravings than those who took a placebo, and those taking buprenorphine at the same time were also more likely to report experiencing no cravings at all. Side-effects were similar between the two groups, though those on liraglutide did experience more gastrointestinal symptoms.
The findings are based on a very small sample size, so should be viewed with added caution. But they line up with other recent reports suggesting that GLP-1 medications can help treat substance use disorders. Last November, for instance, researchers found that people taking semaglutide (the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic) who also had alcohol use disorder experienced a clear reduction in their alcohol-related symptoms afterward, including cravings.
Liraglutide, semaglutide, and similar drugs mimic and effectively boost levels of GLP-1, a natural hormone that helps regulate our insulin production and appetite, among other things (liraglutide is the older of the two drugs and has shown modest weight loss effects). The cells that respond to GLP-1 are primarily found in the gut, but there are also GLP-1 related cells in the brain. They’re thought to tamp down appetite not only by physically affecting the digestive tract but by interacting with these brain cells as well. And that’s led to speculation that these drugs could reduce people’s other unhealthy cravings.
Right now, the evidence supporting this potential benefit is little more than anecdotal. But there are already randomized, controlled clinical trials underway testing semaglutide for alcohol dependence. And the authors behind this latest study say they’re also planning a trial of 200 people that will study whether semaglutide can improve outcomes for people already taking methadone or buprenorphine to manage their opioid addiction.
“With one person dying every five minutes and people dying around the world due to opioid exposure, we feel a sense of urgency,” study author Patricia Grigson, director of the Penn State Addiction Center for Translation, told STAT News. “I feel very hopeful; there may be a new treatment for opioid use disorder.”