Individuals taking Ozempic and Wegovy could also be at elevated threat of growing a debilitating eye situation that may trigger irreversible imaginative and prescient loss, a examine printed Wednesday in JAMA Ophthalmology finds. The authors confused, nonetheless, that extra research are wanted to substantiate a hyperlink between the blockbuster medicine and imaginative and prescient issues.Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, is a situation that impacts the optic nerve, a bundle of fibers that connects to the again of the attention and carries indicators to the mind so an individual can see. In folks with NAION, blood circulate to the optic nerve will get diminished or blocked, resulting in sudden imaginative and prescient loss.“It’s, in impact, a stroke of the optic nerve,” mentioned senior examine writer Dr. Joseph Rizzo, the director of neuro-ophthalmology at Mass Eye and Ear in Boston.NAION is the second commonest optic nerve illness within the U.S., occurring in as much as 10 out of 100,000 folks, in line with the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and it’s one of the crucial frequent causes of sudden blindness. The situation is everlasting with no recognized remedy. The brand new examine was primarily based on an evaluation of medical data spanning six years from greater than 16,800 sufferers within the Boston space, none of whom had been initially identified with NAION. The researchers centered on a subset of these sufferers — about 1,700 — who both had diabetes, had been obese or had weight problems, and in contrast outcomes after 36 months in those that had been prescribed semaglutide to those that weren’t. Semaglutide is the ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy. Virtually 200 of the diabetes sufferers had been prescribed semaglutide and 17 went on to develop NAION, a price greater than 4 occasions larger than these not prescribed the drug. For the weight problems group, 361 folks had been prescribed semaglutide and 20 folks developed the situation, a seven occasions larger price. Rizzo mentioned that as a result of the findings had been primarily based on a overview of current knowledge, researchers can’t say for positive whether or not semaglutide causes the attention situation. He mentioned a big, randomized managed medical trial remains to be wanted to substantiate a hyperlink. “What it does present is an affiliation between taking semaglutide and growing this situation the place you lose imaginative and prescient,” he mentioned. Dr. Andrew Lee, medical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a neuro-ophthalmologist at Houston Methodist Hospital, mentioned he is had some sufferers who developed NAION who had been taking semaglutide, however the query was all the time whether or not “it is a causal affiliation or merely an affiliation alone.” Individuals with Sort 2 diabetes are already at an elevated threat for imaginative and prescient issues, together with NAION. One other imaginative and prescient drawback, diabetic retinopathy, is the main reason behind blindness in adults and is brought on by harm to the retina from excessive blood sugar ranges.What’s extra, threat elements for NAION embrace sleep apnea and hypertension, that are ailments which can be extra more likely to happen in folks with weight problems. RecommendedLee mentioned that it’s believable that weight reduction drugs may trigger the situation, nonetheless, it’s “untimely to conclude” a hyperlink primarily based on the one examine. “The examine can solely generate the speculation” of a potential hyperlink, he mentioned. There have been some anecdotal experiences suggesting that weight reduction medicine could also be linked to imaginative and prescient issues, together with blurred or warped imaginative and prescient. Rizzo mentioned it’s unclear how the load loss medicine may trigger the situation. It may very well be on account of some mechanism with the category of medication, known as GLP-1s, broadly, he mentioned, or one thing particular to the best way semaglutide works. (The examine solely checked out semaglutide and never different standard weight reduction drugs akin to tirzepatide, the lively ingredient in Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound.)Dr. Susan Mollan, a advisor neuro-ophthalmologist on the College Hospitals Birmingham in the UK, wrote in an e-mail that previous trials in folks with diabetes have proven that when a affected person’s blood sugar management is tightened, “they could have a paradoxical worsening of their diabetic retinopathy (quickly),” so it’s believable that the GLP-1 medicine, which additionally assist management blood sugar, may “have a paradoxical organic impact.” Mollan wrote an editorial that was printed alongside the brand new examine.Rizzo mentioned sufferers ought to communicate with their physician if they’re involved about growing the potential well being situation.“As somebody who sees sufferers who’ve ailments like this, if somebody already has visible loss for no matter purpose, and so they had been questioning whether or not they would go on semaglutide, I’d simply have added warning,” Rizzo mentioned.Dr. Shauna Levy, a specialist in weight problems drugs and the medical director of the Tulane Bariatric Heart in New Orleans, mentioned the findings received’t change how she prescribes the medicine.“As for now, the chance nonetheless appears low,” she mentioned. In a press release, a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk mentioned the examine just isn’t adequate to determine a hyperlink between semaglutide and the situation.“Affected person security is a high precedence for Novo Nordisk, and we take all experiences about antagonistic occasions from the usage of our medicines very critically,” the spokesperson mentioned.Berkeley Lovelace Jr. is a well being and medical reporter for NBC Information. He covers the Meals and Drug Administration, with a particular give attention to Covid vaccines, prescription drug pricing and well being care. He beforehand lined the biotech and pharmaceutical business with CNBC.