Can semaglutide help reduce opioid overdoses? What New Study Suggests – National

Semaglutide, the key component of popular medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy, may help treat and prevent opioid overdoses, new research suggests.

This is evident from an American peer-reviewed study that was published on Wednesday in the American newspaper The Washington Post JAMA network opened journal showed that semaglutide was associated with a reduced risk of opioid overdose in patients with type 2 diabetes and opioid use disorder.

Researchers studied 33,006 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and an opioid use disorder. Of these patients, 3,034 were prescribed semaglutide and the rest other diabetes medications.

“Semaglutide was associated with a significantly lower risk of opioid overdose during one year of follow-up compared with other antidiabetic agents,” the authors wrote.

They said the study results indicate the “potential therapeutic value of semaglutide for overdose prevention.”

The study needs further validation with more data and study populations, but it offers some hope for patients struggling with opioid addiction.

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Canada’s opioid crisis, which has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, has claimed thousands of lives across the country.

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Since 2016, there have been more than 47,000 opioid-related deaths in Canada. Between January and March this year, 1,906 deaths from apparent opioid poisoning were reported. according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The majority (81 percent) of accidental opioid-related deaths this year involved fentanyl.

In recent years, Canada, like other countries, has seen a high demand for medications such as Ozempic, which is primarily approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes but is used off-label for weight loss.

Wegovy, an on-label weight loss drug made by the same manufacturer that contains the same drug as Ozempic but in a higher formulation, also recently became available to Canadians.

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Research has pointed to the health benefits of using these medications other than what they were prescribed for. Some studies have also shown the risks of gastric paralysis, pancreatitis, and intestinal obstruction, as well as irreversible vision loss and blindness from taking these medications.

A study published in the journal Nature in May found that semaglutide can reduce the risk of alcohol use disorders in patients with type 2 diabetes or obesity.

Company data released last year by Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk also showed that the Wegovy drug could have heart-protective benefits.

Early data from the Danish drugmaker’s Select trial showed that Wegovy, which has been shown to help patients lose an average of 15 percent of their weight, also reduced the incidence of heart attack, stroke or death from heart disease by 20 percent.

Semaglutide, the main ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, belongs to the GLP-1 class of drugs, which work by controlling blood sugar levels and causing a feeling of fullness.

– with files from Reuters

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