“The Effect of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Receptor Agonists on Substance Use Disorder (SUD)-Related Behavioral Effects of Drugs and Alcohol: A Systematic Review”, 2019 (; similar):
Glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP-1)-receptor agonists have been proposed as putative treatment for substance use disorders (SUD). The objective of this systematic review is to characterize the effects of GLP-1-receptor agonists on SUD-related behavioral effects of drugs, nicotine, and alcohol.
The review was performed according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). A search was performed in PubMed and Embase on June 16, 2018. The inclusion criteria were primary studies investigating the use of GLP-1-receptor agonists on behavioral endpoints related to SUD. 17 studies were included, investigating the effect of the GLP-1-receptor agonists exendin-4, fluoro-exendin-4, liraglutide, AC3174 and GLP-1 (7–36) on SUD-related behavioral effects of ethanol, cocaine, amphetamine, and/or nicotine. All studies used rodents as subjects. 9 of the studies dealt with ethanol, 6 with cocaine, two with amphetamine, and two with nicotine. Most studies investigated acute treatment effects, finding a statistically-significant effect in all but one experiment. A few studies investigated more chronic effects on ethanol. All the studies reported sustained effects. 11 studies tested more than one dose, finding a dose-related response in 10⁄13 experiments. 6 studies report a central effect through intra-cerebral administration or by using mice in which the central GLP-1-receptors had been inactivated.
In conclusion, a solid body of evidence documents acute effects of GLP-1-receptor agonist treatment on behavioral effects of alcohol, nicotine, amphetamine, and cocaine. Documentation of effect of more chronic GLP-1-receptor stimulation on these behaviors is limited.