Diabetics who take Ozempic or Wegovy have a four-fold increased risk of developing a rare optic nerve injury that can lead to blindness, new research finds.

One Stady Research published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology on Wednesday suggests that semaglutide — known by the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic — may increase the risk of developing rare optic nerve injury leading to sudden and irreversible blindness.

According to the article, people with diabetes use Semaglutide. four times more likely From being diagnosed with this rare disease, called ischemic optic neuropathy.

In this disorder, the arteries that supply blood to the optic nerve in the eye become blocked. The condition can lead to: loss of vision Due to deprivation of oxygen and damage to the optic nerve.

The problem is that medicine, at least so far, has not found an effective treatment for this condition, which affects 10 out of every 100,000 people.

Patients with optic nerve damage

Researchers at Harvard University studied data from 16,827 patients at Mass Eye and Ear Teaching Hospital. Of these, 710 had type 2 diabetes, and 194 were being treated with semaglutide.

The researchers found that over a three-year period, 8.9% of these people Those who took semaglutide had ischemic optic neuropathy, compared with 1.8% of those who took the other drugs.

The study also found that people who were overweight or obese and were prescribed semaglutide had More than seven times more likely Compared to those taking other types of medications, because over three years, 6.7% of this population developed the disease, compared to 0.8% of those taking other medications.

Does this mean you will go blind if you take Ozempic? No, the researchers themselves realize the importance of studying the drug further in a larger population, to understand more about this possible relationship.

However, it is information that may be important, especially for physicians to consider this possibility when prescribing patients with other known optic nerve problems, such as: Blue.

Novo Nordisk Reply

In a press release, Novo Nordisk (the manufacturer of Ozempic) says:

“Patient safety is a top priority for Novo Nordisk, and we take all reports of adverse events arising from the use of our medicines seriously. Ischemic optic neuropathy Not listed As a known adverse drug reaction in the Summary of Product Characteristics for marketed formulations of semaglutide (Ozempic and Rybelsus for type 2 diabetes and Wegovy for weight management) according to the approved labels.

One point to consider is that diabetics have always been at a higher risk of vision problems, due to the complications the disease can cause in the blood vessels and nerves of the eye. This just shows the need for this. Study this potential relationship in more depth. From Ozempic with rare cases of blindness.