Weight-loss medicines can lead to blindness: research

People who are prescribed weight-loss medicines and injections like Ozempic and Wegovy, are at high risk of developing an eye condition which can lead to blindness, revealed a study.

The research, published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology and was conducted at Harvard University, revealed people with diabetes who were prescribed semaglutied increased risk of being diagnosed with an eye condition known as non-anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).

Researchers revealed that these medicines stop the supply of blood to the optic nerve in the eyes and develop the condition of Naion.

According to the data, this affects 10 out of the 100,000 people in the general population. 

The researcher analysed six-year data of 16,827 patients at the Mass Eye and Ear Harvard Teaching Hospital,

Of these, 710 were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and 194 were prescribed semaglutide. As many as 361 out of 975 patients with overweight were also prescribed the same medicine.

There were 17 events of Niaon were deducted among type 2 diabetes patients. Over three years, 8.9% of these people on semaglutide had Naion compared with 1.8% on the other drugs, according to the study.

In the same period, 6.7% of people who used semaglutide for weight loss were diagnosed with Naion. 

“This information we did not have before should be included in discussions between patients and their doctors, especially if patients have other known optic nerve problems like glaucoma or if there is pre-existing significant visual loss from other causes,” Prof Joseph Rizzo, a professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, said.