Drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy that contain the active ingredient semaglutide, currently popularized as weight loss drugs, may put users at risk of developing a rare form of blindness, four Massachusetts-based researchers warned in a study published Wednesday.
Reports from certain users of semaglutide-containing drugs prompted the researchers to pursue the question of whether the use of the drugs is associated with the development of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) or who are overweight or obese, according to the study.
Ozempic contains lower semaglutide content and is designed specifically for patients with diabetes, while the latter has higher semaglutide content and is designed for weight loss, according to the University of California, Davis Health.
The researchers retrospectively analyzed the data of 16,827 patients whom neuro-ophthalmologists at an academic institution had seen from December 1, 2017, through November 30, 2023. Some of the patients had T2D while others were overweight or obese. Some of them had been placed on semaglutide-containing drugs while others were on non-semaglutide-type drugs, according to the study. None of the patients had a history of NAION.
Comparing the T2D patients on semaglutide-c0ntaining drugs with those on non-semaglutide-containing drugs, the researchers found that T2D patients on semaglutide-containing drugs had a higher risk of developing NAION. Comparing overweight or obese patients using semaglutide-containing drugs with those on non-semaglutide drugs, the researchers also found that the former group had a higher risk of developing NAION, the study revealed. (RELATED: ‘Gonna Throw Up’: Famous Comedian Says She Overdosed On Ozempic)
Those who take Ozempic or Wegovy may have an increased risk of developing a rare form of blindness, though future research is needed to make a final determination, researchers in a new study said.https://t.co/1PzOeSWyZ3
— WREG News Channel 3 (@3onyourside) July 4, 2024
The study investigated an association between semaglutide and NAION, but did not establish that semaglutide use causes NAION. “As this was an observational study, future study is required to assess causality,” the researchers wrote.
The study was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association. Three of the researchers were from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School, while the fourth was from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
NAION — injury-causing loss of blood flow to the optic nerve — often causes a painless, sudden and non-progressive loss of vision in one eye, with patients noticing it as soon as they awake in the morning, an article by Brigham and Women’s Hospital explained.
“NAION is a rare condition that affects between 2 to 10/100 000 people per year,” an invited commentary on the Boston researchers’ study stated.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned via a statement against semaglutide that is illegally marketed online and said it was investigating reports of fake Ozempic in the U.S.
