Diabetes Drugs may Facilitate Smoking Cessation

According to recent research from the University of Copenhagen, a medication that was first created to treat diabetes and severe obesity may also be helpful for those who are addicted to smoking.

One of the biggest risks to public health is smoking. The Danish Health Authority recently released fresh data showing that smoking addiction is the leading cause of death for Danes, at 15,920 each year.

Additionally, 75% of smokers desire to stop.

So why do they not? The solution is nicotine. One of the most addicting drugs ever discovered.

Nearly one in four Danes, according to the Danish Health Authority, are dependent on at least one nicotine product. Additionally, the use of electronic cigarettes and snuff by young people is rising.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for cravings for nicotine.

However, recent findings from the University of Copenhagen could change that.

In connection with a mouse study focusing on overweight, we discovered, more or less by accident, that a well-known drug, liraglutide, used to treat diabetes and overweight, affects the impact of nicotine on the brain. Liraglutide inhibits the effect that nicotine has on the brain’s reward system,” says the main author of the study, Associate Professor Christoffer Clemmensen from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research at the University of Copenhagen.

He says that nicotine and GLP-1 are the two drugs that have an impact on the brain’s reward system. For instance, smoking causes the release of a significant amount of dopamine, which serves as a type of reward, in the brain. One of the reasons it is so difficult to stop using nicotine products is due to this.

“Seeing as our study has a different focus, i.e. to determine whether the two substances interact to promote weight loss, we did not pursue the surprising effect on the dopamine system, and more research is therefore needed to determine whether treatment with liraglutide will cause mice to ingest less nicotine,” adds Christoffer Clemmensen.

Brand-new studies in medicine focusing on nicotine dependence

In the investigation, which was written up in the journal Cell Reports, the researchers looked at nicotine and GLP-1, two substances that are known to suppress hunger. Several diabetes and weight reduction medications use GLP-1.

The researchers were already aware that quitting nicotine products often results in weight gain because nicotine boosts energy expenditure.

While GLP-1 alone tends to lessen cigarette cravings, the two drugs appear to help with weight loss when used together. Additionally, numerous researchers are presently examining whether GLP-1-based medications can aid in smoking cessation, according to the international database of clinical trials.

Working in coordination with UCPH brain researchers

Christoffer Clemmensen’s collaboration with UCPH brain researchers describes how it was only recently realized that GLP-1 and nicotine work better together than they do separately on the body.

The two drugs have similar effects on neurons in particular regions of the brain, and the scientists have shown that GLP-1 modifies how the body reacts to nicotine.

“Initially, we therefore wanted to see whether a combination of nicotine and GLP-1 could effectively reduce overweight. Our animal models showed some interesting effects. So we did more tests focussing on the reward and appetite regulating systems,” says Christoffer Clemmensen.

“We were surprised to learn how extensively GLP-1 and nicotine interact. It is a well-known fact that both substances affect food intake, and this effect seems to be even greater when you combine the two substances. It not only reduces food intake; it also causes the body to release less dopamine, reducing nicotine cravings,” he says.

Gether Lab at the Department of Neuroscience, University of Copenhagen, monitored dopamine release in the brain, with the trials focusing on the reward system in the brain.

Clinical trials on the interaction of GLP-1-based medications and nicotine are not planned by the researchers, but they do expect that the potential of the field will be recognized by the industry as a result of their work.