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Updated: Aug 2, 2025
Creating Dynamic Images of Short-lived Dopamine Fluctuations with lp-ntPET: Dopamine Movies of Cigarette Smoking
Published on: August 6, 2013
Glucagon-like peptide-1 analogues: a new way to quit smoking? (SKIP)-a structured summary of a study protocol for a
Sophia Lengsfeld1, Thilo Burkard2,3, Andrea Meienberg2,4
1Endocrinology, Diabetology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Petersgraben 4, 4031, Basel, Switzerland.
Background:
Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of premature death. Despite dedicated programmes, quit rates remain low due to barriers such as nicotine withdrawal syndrome or post-cessation weight gain. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues reduce energy intake and body weight and seem to modulate addictive behaviour. These GLP-1 properties are of major interest in the context of smoking cessation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the GLP-1 analogue dulaglutide as a new therapy for smoking cessation.
Methods:
This is a placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel group, superiority, single-centre randomized study including 255 patients. The intervention consists of a 12-week dulaglutide treatment phase with 1.5 mg once weekly or placebo subcutaneously, in addition to standard of care (behavioural counselling and pharmacotherapy with varenicline). A 40-week non-treatment phase follows. The primary outcome is the point prevalence abstinence rate at week 12. Smoking status is self-reported and biochemically confirmed by end-expiratory exhaled carbon monoxide measurement. Further endpoints include post-cessational weight gain, nicotine craving analysis, glucose homeostasis and long-term nicotine abstinence. Two separate substudies assess behavioural, functional and structural changes by functional magnetic resonance imaging and measures of energy metabolism (i.e. resting energy expenditure, body composition).
Discussion:
Combining behavioural counselling and medical therapy, e.g. with varenicline, improves abstinence rates and is considered the standard of care. We expect a further increase in quit rates by adding a second component of medical therapy and assume a dual effect of dulaglutide treatment (blunting nicotine withdrawal symptoms and reducing post-cessational weight gain). This project is of high relevance as it explores novel treatment options aimed at preventing the disastrous consequences of nicotine consumption and obesity.
Trial Registration:
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03204396 . Registered on June 26, 2017.
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