Semaglutide, the important thing element in widespread medicines like Ozempic and Wegovy, might probably assist deal with and forestall opioid overdoses, new analysis suggests.
A U.S. peer-reviewed research revealed on Wednesday within the JAMA Community Open journal confirmed that semaglutide was related to a lowered threat of opioid overdose in sufferers with Sort 2 diabetes and opioid use dysfunction.
Researchers studied 33,006 sufferers recognized with each Sort 2 diabetes and opioid use dysfunction. Of those sufferers, 3,034 had been prescribed semaglutide and the remaining different diabetes medicines.
“Semaglutide was associated with a significantly lower risk of opioid overdose during a 1-year follow-up compared with other antidiabetic medications,” the authors wrote.
They stated the outcomes of the research recommend semaglutide’s “potential therapeutic value for preventing overdoses.”
The analysis wants additional validation with extra knowledge and research populations, nevertheless it provides some hope to sufferers scuffling with opioid dependancy.
Canada’s opioid disaster, which worsened in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, has claimed hundreds of lives throughout the nation.
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Since 2016, there have been greater than 47,000 opioid-related deaths in Canada. Between January and March this yr, 1,906 obvious opioid toxicity deaths had been reported, in response to the Public Well being Company of Canada.
The bulk (81 per cent) of the unintended opioid-related deaths this yr have concerned fentanyl.
In recent times, Canada, like different international locations, has seen a excessive demand for medicines like Ozempic, which is primarily authorized for the remedy of Sort 2 diabetes however has been used off-label for weight reduction.
Wegovy, an on-label weight reduction remedy made by the identical producer and containing the identical drug as Ozempic however at the next formulation, additionally just lately turned out there to Canadians.
Analysis has pointed to well being advantages of utilizing these medicine aside from what they’re prescribed for. Some research have additionally proven dangers of abdomen paralysis, pancreatitis and bowel obstruction in addition to irreversible imaginative and prescient loss and blindness from utilizing these medicine.
A research revealed within the Nature journal in Could discovered that semaglutide might scale back the danger of alcohol use dysfunction in sufferers with Sort 2 diabetes or weight problems.
Firm knowledge launched final yr by Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk additionally confirmed that its Wegovy drug may have heart-protective advantages.
Early knowledge from the Danish drugmaker’s Choose trial demonstrated that Wegovy, which has been proven to assist sufferers lose a median of 15 per cent of their weight, additionally lowered incidence of coronary heart assault, stroke or demise from coronary heart illness by 20 per cent.
Semaglutide, the important thing ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, belongs to the GLP-1 class of medication, which work by serving to management blood sugar ranges and triggering a sense of fullness.
— with recordsdata from Reuters
