After revolutionizing weight loss, GLP-1s show promise on another front: opioid addiction

The Globe and Mail Published YesterdayUpdated 2 hours ago Tom Little/Reuters Tom Little/Reuters Save for laterPlease log in to bookmark this story. Log InCreate Free Account Adam Scioli gets excited when he speaks about GLP-1 medications. Not because they’re known globally for revolutionizing weight-loss management, but because he thinks this class of drugs is the next frontier of addictions treatment. Scioli helped to transform care at Caron Treatment Centers in the United States during his recent tenure at the elite non-profit as an addictions psychiatrist and chief medical officer. Caron is believed to be the first of very few rehabilitation facilities in the world that prescribe GLP-1s off-label to treat substance-use disorders. Open this photo in gallery: Adam Scioli has studied whether GLP-1s can be used to treat addictions, and was encouraged . Joe Lamberti/The Globe and Mail Caron added GLP-1s to its arsenal of addiction medications in 2024 and has since prescribed them to more than 500 residential clients. Scioli said researchers warned him and his colleagues that they were “putting the cart before the horse,” but it’s a decision they stand by. “It’s no doubt groundbreaking. It’s no doubt transformative,” he said. GLP-1 medications, such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, are only approved by the U. Federal Drug Administration and Health Canada for diabetes and chronic weight management. Early research, however, has shown that this class of drugs may help dampen drug cravings, similarly to how they quiet intrusive thoughts about food. GLP-1s, developed initially for blood glucose and weight control, work . They also alter the brain’s dopamine pathway – the circuit for reward, motivation and desire – which helps to mute the mental preoccupation with eating. That pathway is also central to addiction. The use of addictive substances triggers massive dopamine surges. So, a natural question has emerged: Could GLP-1s be the next big treatment for substance-use disorders? Scioli said he has seen evidence to support this idea. “What we’ve observed is that these GLP-1 receptor agonists seem to provide a cognitive buffer,” he said. “They allow our patients to recognize their triggers without being compelled to act on them.” Open this photo in gallery: Ozempic belongs to the GLP-1 family, which has dramatically reshaped diabetes and weight-loss care. Alison Boulier/The Globe and Mail Canadian researchers are part of a growing network of scientists who are putting such early findings to the test.