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2w ago

VA Launches Nationwide Trial Testing Semaglutide for Alcohol Use Disorder

The 24-week randomized study could point to a new treatment option for veterans with moderate-to-severe alcohol use disorder if results are confirmed.

Marines with Alpha Company, Infantry Training Battalion, at Camp Pendleton, California, on July 9, 2026.
FILE - The US Department of Veterans Affairs building is seen on August 21, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images)
FILE - A person walks past the Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters a block from the White House on March 6, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • The Department of Veterans Affairs has opened recruitment for the CRAVE trial, which will randomize about 600 veterans at 18 VA centers to weekly semaglutide injections or placebo and follow them for 24 weeks to measure drinking, health, and quality of life.
  • Participants will be adults aged 18 to 80 and the trial will compare the GLP-1 compound used in diabetes and weight-loss drugs against placebo to test whether it reduces alcohol consumption.
  • VA officials stressed the study is exploratory and urged veterans not to self-medicate with GLP-1 drugs or replace approved treatments while researchers analyze safety and effectiveness.
  • The trial builds on animal studies, observational data, and small randomized trials that suggested GLP-1 medications might lower substance-use behaviors and emergency visits, but prior results are preliminary and mixed.
  • If CRAVE shows benefit, findings would need replication, guideline updates, and regulatory review before semaglutide could be adopted as a treatment for alcohol use disorder in clinical practice, with potential to expand options for veterans facing high rates of AUD.