{"id":33487,"title":"Study finds that weight-loss injections can be associated with a condition that causes blindness","publisher":"Stockmark.IT","author":"Stockmark.IT Website","published":"2024-07-05T03:45:53+00:00","modified":"2024-07-05T03:55:05+00:00","canonical_url":"https://stockmark.it/study-finds-that-weight-loss-injections-can-be-associated-with-a-condition-that-causes-blindness/","markdown_url":"https://stockmark.it/study-finds-that-weight-loss-injections-can-be-associated-with-a-condition-that-causes-blindness.md","json_url":"https://stockmark.it/study-finds-that-weight-loss-injections-can-be-associated-with-a-condition-that-causes-blindness.json","category":"Drug Research","categories":["Drug Research","Medication"],"featured_image":"https://i0.wp.com/stockmark.it/wp-content/uploads/stencil.share-talk-2024-05-02T050836.782.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1","format":"news","language":"en-GB","content":"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.\n\nResearchers 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.\n\nNaion 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.\n\nResearchers 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.\n\nSemaglutide was prescribed to 194 patients with type 2 diabetes.\n\nIn the study, 975 overweight or obese patients were included. 361 of them were prescribed semaglutide.\n\nSemaglutide was prescribed to 17 patients with type 2 diabetics, while other drugs were taken by six others.\n\nThe researchers found that 8.9% of those taking semaglutide over three years had naion, compared to 1.8% who were on other drugs.\n\nSemaglutide 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.\n\nSemaglutide was prescribed to people who were overweight and obese. Twenty naion episodes occurred, while only three happened in those taking other drugs.\n\nSemaglutide users experienced naion in 6.7% of cases over three years compared to 0.8% of those taking other weight loss drugs.\n\nProfessor 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.\n\nThis 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.\n\nGraham 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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nSince 2023 , the NHS has prescribed Wegovy (semaglutide) for weight loss.\n\nNovo 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.”\n\nAccording 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).\n\nSend DataSend Data"}