Weight loss drug linked to rare eye condition – BBC News

People prescribed semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, to lose weight, may have a higher risk of developing a serious but rare eye condition, the study suggests.

Examining 17,000 patients over six years, US researchers found that those taking type 2 diabetes medication were four times more likely to be diagnosed with the disease than patients who did not use it.

Among those who took it for obesity, the risk of this condition was seven times higher.

But the researchers could not prove that semaglutide caused the eye condition, which can lead to loss of vision in one eye, nor could they explain the increased risk or the difference between the groups. The numbers affected were few.

Novo Nordisk, the company that makes the drug, says patient safety is a “priority” but the study has several limitations.

Trials show semaglutide can help obese people lose more than 10% of their body weight, if they also make changes to their diet and lifestyle.

There was a lot of hype around the drug after celebrities on social media started posting about their sudden weight loss while taking it.

Although it is only available by prescription to people with type 2 diabetes (Ozempic) and the obese (Wegovy), online pharmacies sell semaglutide injections with prescriptions. less of the weight or health of the person purchasing them.

All medicines have potential side effects.

Some of the more common side effects for semaglutide include:

A change in vision is listed as one of the serious side effects, in the safety data of Ozempic and Wegovy for patients.

Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), affects up to 10 in 100,000 people in general, researchers, from Harvard Medical School, report in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.

It is thought to be caused by reduced blood flow to the optic nerve and is currently incurable.

Harvard Medical School ophthalmology professor Dr Joseph Rizzo said: “Our findings should be considered important but provisional, as future studies are needed to examine these questions in a larger population and diversity.”

UK ophthalmologists from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists recommend that patients taking semaglutide be informed of the small risk of developing eye diseases.

Due to the small number of patients affected by the eye condition in the study – who may not have been taking their medication as prescribed or are representative of the general population – the statistics at risk may ‘ are they not correct.

Novo Nordisk said the study did not take into account whether patients smoked or how long they had had diabetes. And there were challenges in accurately registering and identifying eye condition cases.

A spokesman said: “NAION is not listed as an adverse drug reaction” for the marketed semaglutude products – Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy.

“Semaglutide has been studied in large global evidence studies and intensive clinical development programs.”

This drug is being evaluated in a trial called Focus, which ends in 2027, to evaluate its long-term effects on diabetic retinopathy – a condition of the eyes in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Honorary professor of physiology at Queen’s University Belfast Graham McGeown said: “Given the rapid increase in the use of semaglutide and its approval for many conditions other than obesity and type 2 diabetes, this issue deserves is further study – but the potential side effects of drugs always need to be balanced against the potential benefits.”