Ozempic and Wegovy Linked to Rare Blindness Risk, Study Finds

New probe released connected Wednesday suggests that Ozempic and akin medications whitethorn person unexpected broadside effects. Doctors successful Massachusetts person recovered a nexus betwixt the drug’s progressive constituent semaglutide and a higher hazard of a uncommon information that tin origin blindness called nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). The findings bash not beryllium a causal transportation betwixt the two, however, and much probe is needed to cognize for certain, the researchers say.

The survey was conducted by ophthalmologists astatine Harvard Medical School and Mass Eye and Ear, a specialty infirmary focused connected oculus issues affiliated with Harvard. The squad was inspired to look into the imaginable nexus aft they had travel crossed 3 patients who began to suffer their imaginativeness from NAION wrong a week’s time. This would already beryllium strange, since NAION isn’t precise communal (estimates suggest that astir 6,000 caller cases successful the U.S. hap annually), but each 3 patients were besides taking semaglutide.

The researchers decided to bash a heavy dive into their existing data. They analyzed the aesculapian records of astir 17,000 Mass Eye and Ear patients dating backmost to 2017, erstwhile the archetypal semaglutide-based medicine Ozempic was approved for usage arsenic a attraction for benignant 2 diabetes. Nowadays, Ozempic is besides utilized arsenic an off-label medicine for value nonaccomplishment on with Wegovy, a higher-dose mentation of semaglutide approved for obesity. Semaglutide and akin drugs person proven to beryllium much much effective astatine helping radical suffer value than fare and workout alone.

They focused connected astir 1,700 patients who were diagnosed with diabetes oregon with being overweight/obese but who had nary anterior past of NAION. Then they tracked NAION diagnoses betwixt likewise matched groups of patients who were prescribed semaglutide oregon who were prescribed different diabetes oregon obesity medications.

The patients were tracked for astir 3 years. During that time, 46 NAION cases were diagnosed among the matched groups of patients. But those prescribed semaglutide were importantly much apt to beryllium diagnosed with NAION, the researchers found. This signifier was seen crossed some groups of patients, though the hazard appeared higher for those prescribed the cause for value loss. Compared to radical taking different obesity medications, the hazard of NAION was implicit 7 times higher for those prescribed semaglutide.

“This study’s findings suggest an relation betwixt semaglutide and NAION,” the doctors wrote successful their paper, published Wednesday successful the diary JAMA Ophthalmology.

As acold arsenic the researchers know, this is the archetypal portion of grounds ever to suggest that semaglutide could rise the hazard of NAION. But they’re speedy to constituent retired that their enactment unsocial cannot amusement a cause-and-effect narration betwixt semaglutide and NAION, particularly since it’s based connected retrospective, observational data. And determination are different caveats to the findings.

The information disposable lone tracks whether radical were prescribed these medications, for instance, not whether they took them oregon continued to instrumentality them passim the full survey period. Given its focus, Mass Eye and Ear besides sees galore much uncommon oculus cases than would beryllium expected successful the wide population. At the aforesaid time, the tiny fig of NAION cases seen successful the survey makes it hard to quanify the existent added hazard perchance posed by semaglutide (even a fewer cases successful 1 absorption oregon the different would greatly alteration the hazard ratio). Scientists besides don’t afloat recognize wherefore NAION happens, overmuch little however these drugs could beryllium raising people’s hazard of it. That said, semaglutide mimics the hormone GLP-1, which binds to receptors recovered successful the cells of the optic nerve, perchance explaining however complications could arise, the researchers explained.

While NAION is uncommon overall, it’s the 2nd astir communal origin of blindness owed to optic nervus damage, according to the scientists. And fixed the surging popularity of these GLP-1 drugs and overmuch higher comparative hazard of NAION seen successful this study, much extended probe is needed to cognize whether this imaginable complication is existent oregon not. Larger retrospective studies with information collected from aggregate locations, randomized objective trials that travel patients implicit time, oregon analyses tracking reported adverse events of each GLP-1 drugs are examples of studies that would assistance corroborate oregon refute their findings, the authors say.

“As this was an observational study, aboriginal survey is required to measure causality,” they wrote.