(NewsNation) — GLP-1 medications have grown popular in recent years for weight loss, but one doctor has found another use: combating alcohol and drug addiction.
Dr. Steven Klein, a physician specializing in addiction, is spearheading a new type of treatment program for more than 130 patients in Pennsylvania and South Florida who struggle with alcohol or drug addiction.
Klein is helping patients curb their alcohol or drug cravings using injections of the brand-name GLP-1 medication Mounjaro.
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“There’s a growing body of evidence in pre-clinical models using animals and human data as well that shows that cravings and use of alcohol and opioids decrease when these medications are being used,” Klein told NewsNation’s “Morning in America.”
Klein called his personal use of the medication “transformative,” as someone who previously struggled with food, alcohol and drug addiction.
“What these medications do, they go into that reward system, and they make people feel OK without these substances, whether that substance be a cheeseburger, a beer, a line of cocaine,” Klein said. “Any of these usbtances make our reward system light up. These medications are going to the root of the reward system and taking away patients’ cravings.”
President Donald Trump announced efforts last week to lower the cost of such weight loss medication. Federal regulators have not yet approved the drugs for behavioral health issues like drug or alcohol addiction, though Klein said many of his patients with addictions still qualify based on their weight.