GLP-1 drugs already help people lose weight. They could also help curb alcohol use. The National Institutes of Health says researchers at Copenhagen University found that a GLP-1 receptor agonist could help control heavy drinking in particular, adding “to a growing body of evidence” that the drugs could be an effective treatment for alcoholism. “Very few medications are currently approved for alcohol use disorder,” said study co-author George Koob, director of the National Health Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “and these are vastly underutilized.” Researchers say the findings are encouraging enough to justify larger clinical trials.
