A study by Mass General Brigham researchers has found that patients taking some diabetes and weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy are at a higher risk of a stroke of the optic nerve that can lead to blindness. This study found that patients who take semaglutide, sold under the brands Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss are more likely to be diagnosed with a rare condition called NAION than those without the medications. The researchers cautioned that there is no evidence that semaglutide causes NAION. But the study has found patients are at a higher risk of developing it.Â
This study was recently published in JAMA Ophthalmology. In this study, researchers involved two groups of people such as the diabetic group and the overweight group. The diabetic group consisted of 710 people with diabetes. 194 of them took semaglutide and the remaining 516 took other medications. On the other hand, the overweight group consisted of 979 people who were overweight. 361 of them used semaglutide and the remaining 618 people took other medications. Then researchers tracked them and collected data to check if Ozempic and Wegovy increase the risk of NAION. Â
When researchers observed the collected data, they found that 17 patients in the diabetic group and 20 people in the overweight group who took semagultide had developed NAION. But the number of NAION cases was very less who took other medications for diabetes and weight loss. It was 6 and 3 for people who took other medications in the diabetic group and the overweight group respectively. This clearly shows that semaglutide increases the risk of NAION. But the cause and effect are still not clear. Hence there is a need for further research. Â
The results of this study clearly show that Ozempic and Wegovy increase the risk of blindness. Hence healthcare professionals should be very careful while prescribing these semagultide to treat people with diabetes and obesity. This study will help these patients as they can stop taking it.Â
