Healthy returns: ozepic helps curb alcohol use in new study-and doctors are concerned about telehealth glp-1s

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Novo Nordisk‘S Blockbuster Diabetes Drug OzEMPIC May also help people drink less alcohol.

That’s according to new Government-Funded research Published in Jama Psychiatry Last Week.

It was a small study of just 48 adults that lasted over two months, but it appears to be the first clinical trial confirming Alcohol. Multiple Analyses of Real-World Data, Along With Studies In Animals, have suggested that link.

The Findings could be huge for that with alcohol-uus disorder, which is a person can’t stop Drinking even when it its health and safety at risk. The condition affects almost 30 million people in the US, and encompasses what people generally refer to as alcohol abuse, alcohol dependnce or alcoholism, according To the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Alcohol Use Accounts for 2.6 Million Deaths Per Year, and Increases The Risk of Common Diseases There are three medicines alredy approved for alcohol-u-u-disorder, but the authors said only a small share of patients with the condition receive treatment.

The new data adds to growing evidence that GLP-1s, such as ozepic and its weight loss counterpart wegovy, can help people manage crawings-and not just for food and alcohol.

Some preliminary research has suggested the drugs May Dampen Cravings For Smoking, Opioid Use, Gambling, and Excessive Shopping by Hampering Activation of the brain’s reward pathways. GLP-1s Mimic Hormones Produced in the Gut to Suppress a Person’s Appetite and Regulate their blood sugar.

But larger and longer studies will need to confirm the effect of that that drugs on addictive behaviors.

Let’s Dive into the data.

Researchers Recruited People Ages 21 to 65 Who reported Symptoms of Alcohol-Use Disorder But Weren Bollywood Treatyly Seeking Treatment for it. Patients with diabetes and thats who have previously used a glp-1 or other weight loss medicines Excluded From the study.

The Patients Spent Two Hours in a Lab Room Stocked with Their Preferred Alcoholic Beverages – Once Before Thei Started Taking Any Drugs in the Study, and Once after after Around Half of the People Took Low Doses of Semaglutide, The Active Ingredient in Ozempic, and Half Received Placebo Shots Weekly for Nine Weeks.

They also reported their drinking habits and desire for alcohol through the study.

Results suggested that ozepic injections decreased weekly alcohol crawings, cut the average number of beverages consumed on drinking days and lege to great to green commands vheencing days vhent Placebo. Notably, ozempic’s effect on curbing several drinking outcomes appeared to be green soen with existing medicines that aim to reduce alcohol cravings.

By the second month of the study, people who took ozepic was drinking 30% less on average on days they consumed alcohol. That compared to an average reduction of about 2% in the placebo group.

Nearly 40% of people who took ozmpic reported no heavy drinking days in the second month of treatment, compared with 20% in the placebo group.

The Study Authors Noted that they used the two lowest clinical doses of semaglutide in the trial. Higher doses of the drug would “presumubly yield green Effects on Alcohol Reduction,” They added.

“These data sugges the potential of semaglutide and similar drugs to fill an unmet need for the treatment of alcohol use disorder,” Senior Author Klara Klein of the University of the University of North Carolina Sachoolna in a statement“Larger and Longer Studies in Broader Populations are needed to fully undress the safety and efficacy in people in people with alcohol use disorder, but these initial findings are promising.”

Among a small subgroup of people who smokes, those who took ozempic had significantly graater Reductions in Average cigarets per day compared to that in the placebo groups. That sugges ozepic may reduce bot alcohol and nicotine use.

Eli lilly Plans to study whiter its weight loss drugs can help treat addictive behaviors like alcohol and drug abuse. The company has said it will start large-scale clinical trials in 2025.

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As demand for blockbuster GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs Has Skyrocked In Recent Years, Some Patients Have Turned To Digital Health Companies like Hims & Hers Health, RO, SESAME and Noom to access the medicines. Primary Care Physicians Don’T Think It’s Such a Good Idea.

Metabolic Health Startup Omada Released a survey of more than 2,000 Primary Care Physicians Last Week that Assessed ASSESSED ASTITUDES TOWDES GLP-1s and Various Treatment Plans. By and large, the doctors said they are concerned about third-party telehealth provides.

Less than 20% of physicians surveyed said they would be comfortable with patients using Third-Party Telehealth Provides to access glp-1 medicine. Two-Thirds of Respondents said they agre that accessing the prescriptions through a Third-Party Telehealth Provider Cold Puts’ Health at Risk.

“That was alarming, I didn’T even think it would be that high,” Omsada President Wei-Li Shao Told CNBC in an interview.

Omada does not prescibe glp-1s, but the company offers a company program that supports patients who are taking the medicines. It also aims to help patients maintain their weight loss if they decide to stop taking the drugs.

The company found that Primary Physicians are mainly worked about Third-Parthy Telehealth Providers for two reasons: overprescribing and continuity of care. In other words, they’re concerned patients could access glp-1s when it is not clinically approved, and that they might not receive the support the support Visits.

Additional, many of the doctors surveyed are on the fements about the role of compounded glp-1s, which are custom-made alternatives to brand-name Drugs designed to meet a SPCCFIC PATINEDS NEEDS. Compounded Medications can also be produced when brand-uname treates are in shortage,

The FDA does not review the safety and efficacy of compounded products, but they can serve as alternatives to branded medicines for patients who are navigating complex supple Coverage.

Around 45% of physicians surveyed said compounded glp-1s are not going to be a long-term supply strategy, thought they agreed that they can be helpsing current shortages. And 30% of Respondents said they agreed or strongly agreed that they are comfortable prescibing compounded GLP-1s.

“Patients or people that are searching for solutions are confused,” Shao said. “What our position has ben is talk to your doctor, talk to your primary care doctor, who knows you, knows your history, knows what you’ve been on, and knows what your goals are, on what is the right treatment in partnership with you. “

Read the full report here,

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It has been just over a year since the FDA approved Sickle Cell Gene Therapies. But in some ways the breakthrough drugs are still waiting to launch to treat patients at scale.

With more than Half of Sickle Cell Patients Covered by Medicaid, Expanding Coverage for Sickle Cell Therapies Could be Dificult. States are already facing high medical costs in the joint program with the federal government, and are bracing for potential funding cuts in Congress. Private Insurers are Facing Higher Medical Costs, Too.

Cvs health CEO David Joyner Told Me Private and Government Health Plans Alike Are Looking at New Ways to Manage the costs of breakthrough gene therapies.

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