Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists May Be Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder

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By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, Senior Medical Editor, B. Pharm. Last updated on May 6, 2026.

via HealthDay

WEDNESDAY, May 6, 2026 -- Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists may be a potential novel treatment for alcohol use disorder, according to a study published in the May 2 issue of The Lancet.

Mette Kruse Klausen, M.D., from Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg in Denmark, and colleagues evaluated the efficacy of semaglutide in treatment-seeking patients with alcohol use disorder and comorbid obesity. The study enrolled 108 participants with moderate-to-severe alcohol use disorder and comorbid obesity who were randomly assigned to 2.4 mg semaglutide once weekly or placebo (54 participants in each group).

The researchers found that semaglutide was associated with a reduction in heavy drinking days (–41.1 percentage points from baseline) versus placebo (–26.4 percentage points). Semaglutide was also associated with substantial effects on multiple secondary alcohol-related and somatic outcomes. Adverse events were more frequent with semaglutide, but were transient, and were generally mild-to-moderate gastrointestinal effects.

"Very few medications are currently approved for alcohol use disorder, and these are vastly underutilized," coauthor George Koob, Ph.D., from the National Institute of Health National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said in a statement. "A new option that is more accessible and more effective could be a game changer for closing the treatment gap."

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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Source: HealthDay

Posted : 2026-05-07 02:42

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