A study found that people who were prescribed a weight loss injection are at an increased risk of developing a condition in the eye which can cause blindness.
Researchers found that diabetics who took semaglutide (also known by the brands Wegovy or Ozempic) were four times more likely than other people to develop a condition called non-arteritic, anterior ischemic, optic neuropathy.
Naion occurs when the arteries that supply blood to your optic nerve become blocked. This condition can cause loss of vision due to damage to the optic nervous caused by oxygen deprivation. The condition affects 10 people out of every 100,000 in the general population.
Researchers at Harvard University conducted the research published in JAMA Ophthalmology. They analyzed data collected from 16,827 Mass Eye and Ear Harvard Teaching Hospital patients who were treated over a period of six years.
Semaglutide was prescribed to 194 patients with type 2 diabetes.
In the study, 975 overweight or obese patients were included. 361 of them were prescribed semaglutide.
Semaglutide was prescribed to 17 patients with type 2 diabetics, while other drugs were taken by six others.
The researchers found that 8.9% of those taking semaglutide over three years had naion, compared to 1.8% who were on other drugs.
Semaglutide is more than seven-times more likely to cause the condition in people who are overweight or obese and who take it than other weight loss medications.
Semaglutide was prescribed to people who were overweight and obese. Twenty naion episodes occurred, while only three happened in those taking other drugs.
Semaglutide users experienced naion in 6.7% of cases over three years compared to 0.8% of those taking other weight loss drugs.
Professor Joseph Rizzo of Harvard Medical School, an ophthalmologist, stated: “Our results should be viewed by the public as significant, but tentative. Future studies will need to examine these issues in a larger and diverse population.
This is new information that we didn’t have before. It should be discussed between patients and doctors, particularly if they have known optic nerve issues like glaucoma.
Graham McGeown is an honorary professor of biology at Queen’s University Belfast. He said that the research suggests a link between semaglutide and a form of vision-threatening optic neuropathy. However, this association would be best tested in larger studies.
The rapid rise in the use of semaglutide and its potential licensing for other problems than obesity and type-2 diabetes warrants further study. However, possible side effects must always be weighed against possible benefits.
Since 2023 , the NHS has prescribed Wegovy (semaglutide) for weight loss.
Novo Nordisk’s spokesperson, who is responsible for Ozempic and Wegovy said that patient safety was a priority. “We take all reports of adverse events resulting from the use of our medications very seriously.”
According to the approved labels, “Non-arteritic acute ischemic vision neuropathy” is not listed in the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) of the marketed formulations (Ozempic and Rybelsus for Type 2 Diabetes; Wegovy for Weight Management).
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