A groundbreaking new study has uncovered a potential link between a popular weight loss and diabetes medication and an increased risk of sudden vision loss. The drug in question, semaglutide, sold under brand names like Ozempic and Wegovy, has been hailed as a game-changer in the fight against obesity and Type 2 diabetes. However, this research suggests it may come with an unexpected and serious side-effect.
Semaglutide belongs to a class of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists. These medications mimic a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar and appetite. Since its approval by the FDA in 2017 for diabetes and later for weight loss, semaglutide has skyrocketed in popularity. By early 2023, it accounted for the highest number of new prescriptions among similar drugs in the United States.
But as more people turn to semaglutide for its benefits, researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School have raised a red flag. Their study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, suggests that patients taking semaglutide may face a significantly higher risk of developing a condition called nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION for short.
NAION is a serious eye condition that occurs when blood flow to the optic nerve is suddenly reduced or blocked. This can lead to rapid and often permanent vision loss, typically in one eye. While it’s the second most common cause of optic nerve-related vision loss in adults, it’s still relatively rare, affecting only two to 10 people per 100,000 in the general population.
The study’s findings are striking. Among patients with Type 2 diabetes, those taking semaglutide were over four times more likely to develop NAION compared to those on other diabetes medications. The risk was even higher for overweight or obese patients using semaglutide for weight loss – they were more than seven times more likely to experience NAION than those using other weight loss drugs.
These numbers are certainly attention-grabbing, but what do they mean in real-world terms? To put it in perspective, over a three-year period, about 9% of diabetes patients on semaglutide developed NAION, compared to less than 2% of those on other medications. For overweight or obese patients, the numbers were about 7% for semaglutide users versus less than 1% for those on other drugs.
“The use of these drugs has exploded throughout industrialized countries and they have provided very significant benefits in many ways, but future discussions between a patient and their physician should include NAION as a potential risk,” says study co-author Dr. Joseph Rizzo, the study’s corresponding author and director of the Neuro-Ophthalmology Service at Mass Eye and Ear, in a statement. “It is important to appreciate, however, that the increased risk relates to a disorder that is relatively uncommon.”