In a recent study published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology, researchers have identified a potential link between the use of semaglutide, a drug marketed as Wegovy and Ozempic for weight loss and diabetes management, and a rare eye condition known as non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). The study, which analyzed the medical records of approximately 17,000 patients over six years, found that patients with diabetes who were prescribed semaglutide were about four times more likely to be diagnosed with NAION, while overweight or obese patients were more than seven times as likely to have the condition compared to those not on the drug.
NAION is a painless condition that results from reduced blood flow to the optic nerve, causing sudden, permanent blindness in one eye. Although it is relatively uncommon, affecting two to ten in 100,000 people, the study’s findings have raised concerns among researchers and healthcare professionals. Dr. Joseph Rizzo, one of the study’s authors and the director of the neuro-ophthalmology service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, stated that the use of these drugs has become widespread and has provided significant benefits, but that discussions between patients and their physicians should include NAION as a potential risk.
The study has some limitations, as it only looked at correlation and included an unusually large sample of patients with rare eye diseases, which may have skewed the results. However, the analysis shows that patients had the greatest risk of NAION in the first year after they were prescribed semaglutide, suggesting that the condition could be drug-induced. Researchers have described their results as “significant but tentative,” and have called for more scrutiny on the link between semaglutide and vision loss.
Dr. Andrew Lee, clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a neuro-ophthalmologist at Houston Methodist Hospital, has emphasized that more research is necessary to test the hypothesis. While other research has shown that anti-obesity drugs can reduce the risk of cancers, heart attack, and stroke, they have also been linked to rare but severe stomach problems. The new findings are particularly relevant for people considering the drugs who have “other known optic nerve problems like glaucoma or if there is preexisting significant visual loss from other causes.”
Semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, has gained popularity since its launch by the Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk in 2017 for diabetes treatment and in 2021 for weight management. The drug’s popularity has led to an Ozempic shortage in the European Union, prompting the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to urge doctors not to prescribe it for “cosmetic purposes” only and to warn against counterfeit medicines.
