Effects of Semaglutide on Brain Dopamine Responses to Food Cues in Adults With Obesity and Food Addiction Tendencies

What Was Tested

This registered not phased trial tested Semaglutide.

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate how semaglutide affects the way the brain responds to food in adults with obesity and food addiction tendencies.

The main goals of this study are: * To see if semaglutide changes dopamine-related activity in the brain during the look, smell, and drink period. * To see if semaglutide changes dopamine-related brain signals during the post-ingestive period. * To see if semaglutide changes psychological survey results and cognitive task results.

Adults with obesity and food addiction tendencies will join this study.

It had two arms (groups): Off Drug then On Drug (experimental) and On Drug then Off Drug (experimental).

The registry classes the interventions as drug.

More on the Plan

However, the brain mechanisms underlying their effects on appetite, food reward, and eating behavior remain incompletely understood.

Food-related visual and olfactory cues may engage dopamine-mediated reward pathways during the pre-ingestive phase, and post-ingestive signals may further influence dopamine signaling after food intake.

This study will use \[11C\]raclopride positron emission tomography (PET) to assess dopamine-related binding measures in the human brain.

The study will examine whether semaglutide changes dopamine-related brain responses during food cue and drink exposure and during the post-ingestive period. 2.

Who Took Part

30 planned participants were the target.

It was open to people of any sex aged from 19 years up to 50 years.

Healthy volunteers were not accepted; participants needed the condition being studied.

Examples of who could join: Participants aged between 19 and 50 years. Eligible for treatment with semaglutide, defined as either:. Initial body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or higher; or. Initial BMI of 27 kg/m2 to less than 30 kg/m2 with at least one weight-related comorbidity, such as dysglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obstructive sleep apnea, or cardiovascular disease. Mild or greater food addiction tendency, defined as a Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) score of 3 or higher.

The full record lists 6 inclusion and 7 exclusion criteria; among the exclusions: use of medications that may affect body weight or dopaminergic medications within the past 2 months; known hypersensitivity to semaglutide; pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant.

How the Study Was Run

It was run as a non-randomized, crossover and open-label study.

In the crossover set-up each of the participants took both Semaglutide and the comparison in turn, acting as their own control.

Nothing was hidden in this open-label Semaglutide study: the participants and staff both knew the treatment.

It started in 2026-07-15 with completion listed for 2028-02-29.

It ran at 1 site in South Korea.

Its stated primary purpose is basic science.

What Was Measured

Researchers chose this as the main measure: Change in Dopamine Binding Potential During the Look, Smell, and Drink Period.

It also tracked 4 secondary outcomes, for example Change in Dopamine Binding Potential During the Post-Ingestive Period, State Food Craving Score, Chocolate Milk Liking, Chocolate Milk Wanting, and Fullness Ratings (VAS-100) and Food-Specific Attentional Bias.

What This Means in Plain Language

Put simply, this is a not phased, non-randomized trial of Semaglutide in 30 people.

Its size is small, so on its own it can only give an early look.

It is still recruiting; no results are posted to the registry yet, so nothing here describes outcomes.

More context: the Semaglutide compound page, all human trials.