Folks with a historical past of opioid abuse who took Novo Nordisk A/S’s Ozempic have been much less prone to overdose, in keeping with a research that provides to a rising physique of proof suggesting it could assist handle dependancy.
Sufferers on semaglutide, the important thing ingredient in Novo’s diabetes drug Ozempic and the weight-loss shot Wegovy, have been lower than half as prone to overdose as these on insulin, in keeping with the research printed Wednesday in JAMA Community Open. These taking semaglutide have been 63% much less prone to overdose than these taking DPP-4 inhibitors, a broadly used sort of diabetes capsule.
The lower was exceptional, mentioned Rong Xu, a professor of biomedical informatics at Case Western Reserve College, who led the research. Her group had beforehand linked semaglutide to a discount in each alcohol use dysfunction and smoking. That is the primary time a research of this measurement has checked out opioid overdoses, Xu mentioned.
As use of highly effective new weight-loss medicine spreads, curiosity is rising in whether or not the medicines can blunt not simply urge for food but additionally cravings for different substances. Whereas drugmakers have been reluctant to dive into the world, Novo is alcohol consumption in a trial that began this yr.
The Case Western research used medical information to create a database of sufferers with comparable traits and adopted them for a yr to see in the event that they wanted medical look after an overdose. It included individuals with an opioid use dysfunction, with out having the ability to modify for whether or not they have been energetic addicts, Xu mentioned. All of the sufferers additionally had sort 2 diabetes, and about two-thirds had weight problems.
The diminished danger with semaglutide held true in comparison with most different diabetes drug varieties, together with older medicines that work in an identical solution to Ozempic, except Eli Lilly & Co.’s Trulicity. The researchers didn’t examine the Novo medicine with Lilly’s newer diabetes shot, Mounjaro.
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