Scientists have found that the diabetes/weight loss drug semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) significantly reduces cocaine-seeking behaviour in rats.
This work needs to be confirmed in humans, but it suggests that semaglutide is a candidate to be developed as a treatment for cocaine dependency.
At the moment, there is no effective pharmacological treatment for cocaine dependency.
Cocaine is the second most popular illegal drug used in Europe. The European Drug Agency reports that around 2.7 million young adults (15–34) use cocaine regularly, representing around 2.5% of the population in that age group.
Cocaine use in the UK is the second highest in the world, with approximately 2.7% of adults using the drug. There is, to date, no effective pharmacological treatment for problematic cocaine use.
Scientists from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and the University of Pennsylvania, led by Professor Elisabet Jerlhag (University of Gothenburg), gave male rats access to directly-injected cocaine, which they could dispense by pressing a lever in the cage.
Then, an experimental group of 10 of these animals were treated with semaglutide before being given access to the cocaine dispenser.
Elisabet Jerlhag said: “We found that in comparison with the control animals, self-administration of cocaine use dropped by 26% in those animals that had been given semaglutide."
Previous results have found that semaglutide can reduce alcohol consumption and craving in both humans and animals, and this work on cocaine seems to reflect these previous findings on alcohol use.
"Importantly, we also found that after a period of abstinence, there was a 62% drop in cocaine seeking in those animals which had taken semaglutide and the motivation (work undertaken to attain the drug) was lowered by 52%," added Elisabet.
"This is animal work, so we can’t say that we have a viable treatment for human cocaine dependency. We need a bigger study to confirm these results and then we need to see if the findings also apply to humans."
"However, these results are promising, underlining the need for human studies, especially as there are no existing pharmacological treatments for cocaine dependency."
Semaglutide belongs to a class of drugs called GLP-1 inhibitors. These drugs (along with the similar drug Mounjaro) have revolutionised the treatment of excess weight, and are now showing promise in the treatment of mental health problems.