Study: Weight-loss injections often to blame for vision loss

Injections of weight-loss drugs increase the risk of developing a disease that causes vision loss, according to scientists from Harvard University.

They found that people using weight loss drugs may have higher risk of developing ischemic optic neuropathy* – a disease that leads to blindness. Research results published in the scientific journal JAMA Ophthalmology.

In particular, diabetes patients who took drugs containing semaglutide (often sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy) were four times more likely to be diagnosed with the disease than those who took drugs containing other substances, writes The Guardian.

Scientists analyzed data from more than 16,000 patients at one American hospital who had been taking the prescribed drug for six years. More than 700 of them had type 2 diabetes, and nearly 200 were taking semaglutide.

The study involved 975 overweight or obese people, of whom almost 400 were taking the drug semaglutide. During the study, scientists discovered ischemic optic neuropathy in 17 patients with type 2 diabetes and taking semaglutide. Among people taking other drugs, the number of diagnosed cases was lower – only 6.

Over three years, the disease was found in almost 9% of those using semaglutide, compared to almost 2% of those taking other drugs. The study found that overweight or obese people prescribed semaglutide had a more than seven times higher risk of developing the disease than those prescribed other drugs. In particular, 20 cases were recorded in people taking semaglutide, and only 3 in those prescribed other drugs.

A characteristic feature: the disease could appear after a certain time – over three years it was detected in almost 7% of the study participants. Professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School Joseph Rizzo says:

Our findings should be considered important but preliminary, as more research is needed to explore these questions in a much larger and more diverse sample of people. We did not have this information before, but it should be included in discussions between patients and doctors, especially if they have other optic nerve problems, such as glaucoma, or significant vision loss from other causes.

It was previously reported that counterfeit Ozempic drugs, which are used for weight loss, were discovered in some countries.

*Ischemic optic neuropathy is an infarction of its disk. This is a condition that involves loss of vision due to damage to the optic nerve due to insufficient blood supply.

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