"Antidiabetic drugs" have become "panacea"? Not only for weight loss, semaglutide can also help "quit drinking and smoking"!
By altering the brain's reward system response to dopamine, Simeglurant has been shown to be effective in treating a range of addiction problems, such as cocaine, opioid drugs, nicotine, alcohol, etc.
"Blood sugar lowering miracle drug" Semaglutide has become popular in the field of weight loss, but its therapeutic effect is far more than that. It can also effectively address addiction problems such as smoking and alcoholism.
According to the Wall Street Journal on Monday, neuroscientists pointed out that Semaglutide can more effectively suppress addictive behaviors such as alcohol dependence and smoking by affecting the brain's response to rewards and happiness than existing blood sugar-lowering drugs.
Semaglutide mimics the GLP-1 hormone produced in the human body to help regulate glucose levels and suppress hunger, thereby affecting the body's metabolism and achieving weight loss.
According to neuroscientists and endocrinologists, GLP-1 is also naturally produced in the brain, changing the brain's reward system response to dopamine and affecting the region of the brain that controls impulse, memory formation, and reward.
Scott Kanoski, a neuroscientist at the University of Southern California who studied the effects of GLP-1 on the brain, said that GLP-1 can reduce the behavior of binge eating in rodents, and rats injected with GLP-1 diabetes drugs eat less. Then, scientists reversed this effect by injecting GLP-1 blockers into the rat's brain, and the rodents ate more.
Animal studies have shown that when GLP-1 drugs are effective, rodents consume less of a range of potential addictive substances, not just food and alcohol. Therefore, Semaglutide may be a drug that is effective in treating various addiction problems, such as cocaine, opioid drugs, nicotine, and alcohol. Compared with existing drugs, Semaglutide may be more effective because it is easier to reach the brain.
However, the impact of Semaglutide on brain activity and behavior is not permanent. If people stop taking this drug, they may relapse.
In addition, neurologists warn that long-term data is needed to reveal the side effects of Semaglutide in addiction control, and its treatment cost is high. GLP-1 drugs may cost hundreds of dollars per month, while traditional treatment drugs such as naltrexone may only cost $30 per month.