Ozympic has been called a “wonder drug,” with a growing body of research showing that it may help treat many health conditions. Now, a new study shows it may have another use: reducing the risk of overdose in people with opioid use disorder.
The findings are preliminary, but America has been struggling with the opioid epidemic for decades. As a result, any commitment to treatment feels like a big step.
So, what is the connection between Ozympic and opioid use disorder? Experts break it down.
Meet the experts: Pat Asim, VP of Consumer Clinical Content Development at Partnership to End Addiction. Medat Mikhail, MD, is a pain management specialist and medical director of the non-operative program at the Spine Health Center at Memorial Care Orange Beach Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California. Tyler J. Varisco, PharmD, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Drug Policy Health Outcomes and assistant director of research development in the Center for Prescription Drug Abuse Education and Research at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy. Gitanjali Srivastava, MD, director of obesity medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
What did the study find?
This study, published in The Jama network was launched On September 25, it analyzed the health records of nearly 33,000 people with opioid use disorder who also had type 2 diabetes. Researchers found that people who were prescribed semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic and Vigovi) had a significantly lower risk of opioid overdose than people who took one of eight other diabetes medications.
The findings suggest that semaglutide “has potential therapeutic value for overdose prevention,” the researchers wrote in the study.
Does Ozempic reduce the risk of opioid overdose?
possibly It’s important to note that this is one study, and even the researchers noted in the article that the link needs to be investigated further.
Pat Asim, vice president of consumer clinical content development at the Partnership to End Addiction, agrees. “These results are preliminary and based mainly on observational data,” he says. “We need more rigorous clinical trials to fully understand how semaglutide can be part of treatment plans for opioid use disorder.”
In the study, semaglutide was compared to a wide range of antidiabetic drugs, including other GLP-1 agonists (a class of drugs that can help manage blood sugar), Taylor J. Varisco, PharmD, PhD , points out an assistant professor. in the Division of Policy Drug Health Outcomes and Assistant Director for Research Development at the Center for Prescription Drug Abuse Education and Research at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy. “Additional research, including clinical trials, is needed before we can draw any practical conclusions from this work,” he adds.
Asim emphasizes that people with opioid use disorder have other proven treatment options. “While the potential for new drugs is exciting, we have drugs for opioid use disorder that work but are largely underutilized,” he says. “Instead of waiting for controlled clinical trials to understand which addiction profiles may benefit from semaglutides, we need to advocate for the broader use we already have.”
There are “effective, safe, and affordable medications” that “reduce the risk of death for people with opioid use disorder,” such as buprenorphine, a drug that has been “reliably shown in clinical trials to reduce the risk of overdose.” Done,” Varisco says. “I think we need to focus more on improving access to drugs that work through policy reform and care processes to better support patients with opioid use disorder.”
Why is there a link between Ozympic and opioid overdoses?
These drugs are likely to affect the cravings for pain medications that people experiencing opioid use disorder may experience, said Medat Mikhail, MD, a pain management specialist and non-surgical specialist at the Spine Health Center at Memorial Care Orange Beach Medical Center in Fountain Valley. says the program’s medical director. , California.
It’s a sentiment shared by Nora D. Wilko, MD, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health, who wrote an article for it. Women’s health In March about the bright future of GLP-1 drugs (such as Ozympic) in the treatment of substance use disorders. There are “overwhelming” mechanisms that drive us to eat and those that drive us to take drugs – both involving the brain’s motivation and reward systems. Addiction, in essence, hijacks these pathways, activating the system more intensely than everyday rewards (such as eating or social interactions),” he writes.
But studies have suggested that GLP-1 may also alter motivational pathways.
“It stands to reason that if there are similar mechanisms that drive us to eat more food and drugs, and GLP-1 agonists work to induce overeating, then GLP-1 agonists might also potentially to help curb this demand for drug abuse,” Volko writes.
When someone takes an addictive drug like an opioid, “they get a surge of dopamine,” says Michael, which can then lead to future cravings. “But semaglutide works on the same receptors that activate the reward system,” he says. “It is likely that interest will change.”
Experts are excited about the possibility of using semaglutide to treat opioid use disorder in the future, with Gitanjali Srivastava, MD, director of obesity medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, calling the study results “quite promising.”
If future research confirms the findings, Asim adds that semaglutide could become “a valuable tool in a holistic approach to addiction treatment” — but emphasizes that it won’t be a one-size-fits-all solution.
“Addressing a substance use disorder often requires medication, therapy and community support,” she says.
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