United States: This global phenomenon that might provide a sustainable solution to increasing obesity problem and may even cut down the future demand for ResMed’s continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy used in sleep apnea, GLP-1 drugs fall among the most favourite thematic attractions for Wall Street for the next decade.
Researchers have recently discovered new applications for these so-called ‘miracle drugs.’ The latest finding suggests they can help manage alcohol addiction.
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GLP-1 hormone delays hunger and regulates insulin and glucose release. Released after meals, it increases insulin production, thereby lowering blood glucose levels.
It also slows the release of hormones from the stomach that signal the small intestine to absorb food, creating a feeling of fullness, as reported by wccftech.com.
Although the drugs containing GLP-1 agonists were once advertised as a cure for diabetes, dozens of the drugs that the agency has approved are sold as a distinct obesity remedy.
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Novo Nordisk uses semaglutide as the company’s proprietary GLP-1 agonist in drugs marketed under the Ozempic and Wegovy brands; the first one targets type-2 diabetes, while the second product essentially targets obesity.
While Novo Nordisk currently has few other GLP-1 drugs in development that are still in the pipeline which are ingestible and that work with GLP-1 and Amylin agonists to provide better efficacy, Wegovy, and Ozempic are still the main products that Novo Nordisk has right now to manage both obesity and diabetes.
This takes us to the heart of the subject. Since medicines like GLP-1 agonists helped reduce nicotine dependency, a group of researchers recently attempted to study how receptive the hormone is in dealing with alcoholism, as wccftech.com reported.
Correctly, the researchers administered a random group of male vervet monkeys with repeated doses of the semaglutide GLP-1 agonist (up to 0.05 mg/kg) or placebo twice per week within two weeks.
The monkeys had been conditioned to drink alcohol for ten days prior but were not offered alcohol during the treatment period.
For the following 20 working days, the semaglutide treatment continued three times a week, while the placebo was administered twice a week.
However, since this study involved only mammals, the effectiveness of GLP-1 agonists in treating alcoholism in humans remains uncertain. Nonetheless, it opens a promising new research avenue.