Ozempic use linked to rare cases of blindness, experts say

Eye experts have found evidence that an ingredient in the weight-loss drug semaglutide can cause blindness in rare cases.

In recent years, semaglutide, known by brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, has emerged as a miracle weight-loss drug used by everyone from Hollywood elites to the wider general public.

But now, ophthalmologists from Harvard Medical School and from Mass Eye and Ear, a teaching hospital in Boston, have warned that the drug could cause cases of blindness.

Their research was corroborated by two separate teams at the University of Southern Denmark, who released a research paper on the same topic.

All studies have shown a link between GLP-1 medications, such as semaglutide, and the rare eye disorder, non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), caused by a reduction in blood flow to the optic nerve.

The condition can cause sudden and permanent sight loss and is the second-commonest cause of blindness induced by optic nerve damage, after glaucoma.

While the causes of NAION are not fully understood, experts have observed an increased risk of NAION in people taking semaglutide by at least double.

“In the study, we found that the risk is doubled. At the same time, in the clinic we have noticed that since Ozempic came on the market in 2018, the number of NAION cases in Denmark has increased,” a press release from the University of Southern Denmark explained.

“Whereas we used to see between 60 and 70 cases of NAION per year, we are now seeing up to 150.”

The studies are purely observational and are not able to prove causality, but the research does suggest more investigation needs to be done to establish if there is a causal link between GLP-1 weight loss drugs and NAION-caused blindness.

It comes are experts also observed that semaglutide shrunk the size of the heart muscle.

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