GLP-1 agonists (also known as GLP-1 receptor agonists) represent a class of medications used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus. Well-known examples of drugs in this class include those manufactured by Novo Nordisk, such as liraglutide (marketed under Victoza® and Saxenda®) and semaglutide (marketed under Ozempic® and Wegovy®). Semaglutide in particular has shown potential for addressing additional health concerns, such as weight loss, heart failure, kidney disease and liver health. Two recent publications appear to further expand the potential for semaglutide to treat knee pain, and both semaglutide and liraglutide to treat alcohol use disorder.
A recent Novo Nordisk funded study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on 30 October 2024, investigated semaglutide’s impact on knee pain in people with obesity and osteoarthritis. Over 68 weeks, participants receiving semaglutide lost an average of 13% of their body weight, significantly more than the placebo group, and reported greater reductions in knee pain and improved knee function. This effect may stem from weight loss reducing joint stress and possible anti-inflammatory properties of semaglutide, which might protect cartilage.
More recently, a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry on 13 November 2024, has shown that semaglutide and liraglutide may help reduce alcohol consumption in people with alcohol use disorder, particularly those with obesity or type 2 diabetes. Analysing 17 years of data from over 220,000 individuals, researchers found those taking these GLP-1 receptor agonists had fewer alcohol-related hospitalisations than those using medications specifically for alcohol addiction treatment. Specifically, only 5% of GLP-1 receptor agonist users were hospitalised for alcohol use issues, compared to 40% of those on traditional addiction-treating medications. The study used data from the REWHARD consortium supported by the Swedish Research Council and one of the authors was funded by Sigrid Jusélius Foundation.
Both studies have pointed to the need for further trials to elucidate the underlying mechanisms for GLP-1 receptor agonist action in treatment.