Health Officials Investigate Rare Form of Blindness Tied to Ozempic

[justaprogressive]

People taking Ozempic and similar drugs may have to keep an eye out for an unexpected side effect. Health officials in Europe are looking into whether these diabetes and weight loss treatments could raise the risk of a rare but serious disorder that can cause blindness, following recent reports showing a possible association.

On Monday, the Danish Medicines Agency announced that it would ask health officials at the European Union to investigate if GLP-1 medications can potentially cause non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION. Studies this year from researchers in the U.S., and now Denmark, have suggested that GLP-1 users face a greater risk of NAION. At this point, however, it’s still not clear whether there’s a causative link between the two, and the condition appears to be very rare even among GLP-1 users.

NAION is caused by a loss of blood flow to the optic nerve, which then results in sudden and often permanent vision loss. Not much is known about why it happens, though some likely risk factors include age, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea.

Ophthalmologists at Harvard Medical School and Mass Eye and Ear were the first scientists to publicly highlight the potential connection between NAION and GLP-1s. In July, they published a study showing that people taking semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy) for their diabetes or obesity were more likely to develop NAION than similar patients taking other drugs over a three year period.

https://gizmodo.com/health-officials-investigate-rare-form-of-blindness-tied-to-ozempic-2000539752

[MissB]

1. I know it is a popular drug and has some good effects but

I do always worry when drugs like this roll out. Inevitably side effects will show up later that give folks some pause.

[Silent Type]

2. Like diabetes, use of drugs like Plaquenil for auto immune disease, high blood pressure, etc., an annual or more

frequent eye exam will become the standard of care.

[Wounded Bear]

3. Diabetics already do this, or should. There are several potential eye disorders associated with diabetes...nt

[Ritabert]

6. Retinal hemorrhages for example

[JCMach1]

4. Ozempic had too many side effects for me...

I stopped after about 8 months.

[Traildogbob]

5. Damn

You finally lose the weight you want, are looking great and can’t even see yourself.