{"id":840865,"date":"2026-08-01T18:13:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T18:13:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/840865\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T18:13:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T18:13:18","slug":"va-launches-trial-to-test-glp-1-medication-for-alcohol-use-disorder-in-veterans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/840865\/","title":{"rendered":"VA launches trial to test GLP-1 medication for alcohol use disorder in veterans"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a> is launching a nationwide clinical trial to determine whether semaglutide, marketed as Ozempic for Type 2 diabetes and Wegovy for chronic weight management, can help treat alcohol use disorder in veterans, a condition VA says has been diagnosed in more than 400,000 veterans nationwide.<\/p>\n

Semaglutide is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat Type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management, but not alcohol use disorder. <\/p>\n

VA researchers are studying whether the GLP-1 receptor agonist may affect parts of the brain involved in reward, potentially offering a new treatment option for veterans<\/a> with moderate or severe alcohol use disorder if proven safe and effective. <\/p>\n

The department cautioned veterans not to self-medicate or replace evidence-based alcohol use disorder treatments with GLP-1 medications without first consulting a health care provider.<\/p>\n

The study, known as the Cessation or Reduction of Alcohol Consumption in Veterans<\/a> (CRAVE) trial, will enroll more than 600 veterans ages 18 to 80 at 18 VA medical centers nationwide. <\/p>\n

Participants with moderate or severe alcohol use disorder will receive weekly injections of either semaglutide or a placebo for 24 weeks, followed by a safety evaluation. Researchers will measure changes in alcohol consumption, overall health and quality of life.<\/p>\n

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine<\/a> have increasingly studied whether GLP-1 medications, originally developed for diabetes and later approved for obesity, could also help treat substance use disorders. <\/p>\n

VA cited<\/a> an analysis published in March that found patients taking GLP-1 medications experienced lower rates of alcohol use disorder and other substance use disorders than similar patients taking other diabetes medications. <\/p>\n

The department said larger, controlled clinical trials are needed to determine whether semaglutide is safe and effective for treating alcohol use disorder.<\/p>\n

In an official statement, VA Secretary Doug Collins said, \u201cBy exploring emerging treatment options like the use of a GLP-1 for AUD, we aim to expand the tools available to help Veterans take control of their health and recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recruitment began July 28<\/a>. Veterans interested in participating can contact their local VA medical center or search for the trial on ClinicalTrials.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Natalie Oliverio is an independent journalist and Navy veteran who covers military and veterans\u2019 issues. Drawing on her experience as a talent executive and mentor, she writes about the policies, people and programs shaping the military community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Department of Veterans Affairs is launching a nationwide clinical trial to determine whether semaglutide, marketed as Ozempic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":840866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[49,48,48794,28900,196383,48792,28901,48793,13663,84,377,48795,2095,45733,52869,63313],"class_list":["post-840865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-circulated-air-force-times","tag-circulated-army-times","tag-circulated-federal-times","tag-circulated-marine-corps-times","tag-circulated-military-times","tag-circulated-navy-times","tag-glp-1","tag-health","tag-medication","tag-military-times","tag-ozempic","tag-va","tag-veterans","tag-veterans-affairs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/840866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}