Medication used for diabetes and obesity could also be used to treat alcohol dependence, according to a recent study.

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg found that a medication that resemble GLP-1, which is used to treat type 2 diabetes as well as obesity, also could be used to treat alcohol dependence. They found that this substance can reduce alcohol consumption by 30 to 40 percent.

Alcohol dependence causes morbidity as well as mortality and is major health problem in today's society. Nearly 5 percent of the adult population in Sweden have been diagnosed with alcohol dependence, which corresponds to approximately 300 000 people.

Many partake in harmful alcohol consumption, about 15 percent consume more than 14 standard drinks per week (men) or more than nine standard drinks per week (women).

For the study, researchers conducted a study on mice and rats.

Usually, dopamine is released in the brain's reward center in response to drinking alcohol, which leads to a sense of euphoria. Researchers found that type 2 diabetes medication, the GLP-1-like substance prevents the ability of alcohol to increase dopamine in reward areas in the mice, suggesting that they no longer experience a reward from alcohol

In addition the diabetes medication caused the rats to decreases their alcohol intake, as well as reduced the motivation to drink alcohol in rats that were bred to drink a lot of alcohol. The medication also prevents relapse drinking in rats, which is major problem for alcohol dependent individuals.

"The GLP-1-like substance reduced the alcohol consumption by 30 to 40 percent in rats that drank large quantities of alcohol for several months" Elisabet Jerlhag, researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy, said in a statement.

The findings are detailed in the journal Addiction Biology.