A new study suggests that medications like Ozempic could help reduce the risk of overdose and alcohol intoxication in people with substance use disorders.

Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an associate professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, said she’s an advocate for this type of research.

“I think these are actually encouraging studies,” Stanford said.

This specific study, published in the journal Addiction, suggests that weight-loss medications may reduce the risk of overdose and alcohol intoxication.

“We’re seeing that these medications, which are glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and what we call GIPs, seem to have broad-scale use,” said Stanford.

Researchers looked at the health records of more than a million people, finding that those who took a weight-loss drug had a 40% lower chance of overdosing and a 50% lower chance of getting drunk.

“I think that there’s promise and potential for these becoming a use case where we actually have data and potentially approval for these agents in the future,” Stanford said.

Dr. David Lau, a professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Calgary, said the study provides supportive evidence of the unexpected benefits of these weight-loss drugs.

“This class of medication may actually have benefits in terms of improving or reducing addictive behaviors,” said Lau.

In addition to potentially treating addiction, Stanford said these medications can also help break the stigma associated with substance use.

“That we have therapy that can come along and help reduce the stigma and bias that these individuals have experienced for so long,” said Stanford.

When it comes to prescribing these medications to treat substance use, it isn’t possible right now because they aren’t approved by the FDA for that purpose.

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