Medications widely used for weight loss and diabetes may soon have another potential use: treating addiction.
Researchers are studying whether drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, including Ozempic and Wegovy, could help reduce substance-use disorders by affecting the brain’s reward system.
These medications mimic the hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which helps regulate appetite, insulin and digestion. Scientists say the drugs also act on areas of the brain tied to cravings and reward, the same systems involved in addiction. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the brain’s reward circuitry plays a central role in reinforcing addictive behaviors.
Early research is showing promising results. A large study published in BMJ analyzed health records from more than 600,000 patients with type 2 diabetes and found those taking GLP-1 medications were less likely to develop substance-use disorders compared with patients taking other diabetes drugs.
The same research suggested people already diagnosed with substance-use disorders experienced lower rates of hospitalization, overdose and other complications while taking the medications.
Experts caution that the findings are still early. Much of the research so far has been observational or conducted in animal studies, meaning larger clinical trials are needed before the drugs could be approved for addiction treatment.
Scientists say those trials are now underway. Researchers at several universities and federal agencies are studying whether GLP-1 medications could help treat alcohol-use disorder, opioid addiction and stimulant addiction.
According to the National Institutes of Health, substance-use disorders affect millions of Americans, yet only a small percentage of patients receive medication-based treatment.
If ongoing trials confirm the early findings, experts say GLP-1 medications could eventually become an important new tool in addiction care, especially since the drugs are already widely prescribed for diabetes and obesity.
Researchers emphasize people should not use these medications for addiction without medical supervision, as studies are still ongoing and the treatments have not yet been approved for that purpose.
