Glp-1 agonists were greeted as a revolution in the fight against obesity: medicines capable of making 15-20 percent of body weight lose within a year. The arrival on the market of slimming, supported by prominent sponsors such as Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk, was so overwhelming as to create serious supply problems for diabetic patients, a category for which the drugs were developed initially, and for which they can represent an authentic life -saving therapy.
A problem returned only in recent months, but which could soon rekindle in the wake of the continuous successes of these drugs, which are proving to be effective towards a multitude of addictions related disorders. The latest confirmation in this sense comes from a research just presented during the European Congress on obesity (Eco 2025), according to which the weekly consumption of alcohol over just four months could reduce two thirds.
Each year 2 million deaths from alcohol abuse
Alcohol dependence syndrome (what is colored alcoholism) is a recurring condition that causes 2.6 million deaths per year, equal to 4.7 percent of all deaths globally. It is a syndrome recognized by the DSM5 (the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders), the so -called “psychiatrist bible”, and is treated with psychological therapies and with drugs that, however, are struggling to demonstrate effectiveness in the long run: about 70 percent of patients has in fact a relapse within the first year.
In this scenario, the coordinated research team of the University College in Dublin has decided to verify the effect of the analogues of GLP-1, a molecules that have already shown a high efficacy against various types of dependencies, from opiates, alcohol, nicotine. Mostly, the evidence accumulated to date came from studies carried out on animal models. The new study, however, photographs the situation on human patients.
The research involved 262 adults with a body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 27 kilograms/cubic metro (therefore classified in overweight or obese) in treatment with liraglutide or traffic lights, two of the first GLP-1s used as slimming drugs. The researchers divided the participants based on their usual consumption of alcohol in auctions, occasional drinkers and usual drinkers (with a consumption of more than 10 weekly units), and then verified how their habits had changed four months after the start of the therapy.
So we made alcohol consumption collapse
At the end of the research, none of the participants had increased their consumption of alcohol. And in most cases, the drinkers had significantly reduced the number of weekly glasses: the average consumption decreased from 11.3 to 4.3 units per week, a reduction of almost two thirds compared to the start of therapy. In the usual drinkers, in particular, alcohol consumption decreased from 23.2 to 7.8 units per week, thus going down below the threshold of 14 weekly units, considered to highly risk harmful to health.
“This 68% reduction is comparable to that obtained with Nalmefene, a drug used for the treatment of alcohol consumption disorders in Europe”, observes Carel Le Roux, professor of the University College in Dublin who coordinated the research. “The exact mechanism with which the analogues of the GLP -1 reduce alcohol consumption is still in the study phase – he explains – but it is believed that it has to deal with a decrease in the desire for alcohol, which manifests itself in subcortical areas of the brain not under conscious control. Therefore, patients report that the effects on the decrease in the consumption of alcohol are obtained without effort ‘”.
The study involved a limited number of patients, and the results will therefore be confirmed with studies on a wider audience. For the Roux it is already, however, an extremely interesting option. “It has been shown that the analogues of the GLP -1 deal with obesity and reduce the risk of multiple related complications -still underlines the Roux -. The beneficial effects that go beyond obesity, such as those on alcohol consumption, are in the study phase, with some promising results”.