Key Summary
- A new study suggests some weight-loss injections containing semaglutide may be linked to a rare eye condition that can cause vision loss.
- The risk appeared higher with Wegovy than Ozempic.
- Experts stress that more research is needed to confirm whether the drugs truly increase the risk.
Amid reports of patient deaths and rapid weight regain after stopping weight loss drugs, a new study claims that patients taking weight-loss jabs risk Ischaemic optic neuropathy (ION) or vision loss.
The weight loss drugs or the GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) are usually recommended for the patients to manage their blood sugar levels, weight and to reduce heart health-related risks.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has earlier revised the product information of semaglutide, indicating a rare risk of vision loss.
Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus - made by Novo Nordisk - contain semaglutide, but have different dosages and formulations.
However, the recent study on semaglutide, titled ‘Ischemic optic neuropathy with semaglutide: global observational analysis of sex- and formulation-specific risk’, published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology (BJO), shows that those using Wegovy are at greater risk of developing no-artertic ischemic optic neuropathy (Naion) than Ozempic.
The study examined reports of side-effects submitted to the US medicines regulator, the Food and Drug Administration, through its adverse event reporting system between December 2017 and December 2024.
It focused on 31,774 semaglutide cases and warned that the findings highlight a “potential dose-dependent safety concern that warrants urgent prospective evaluation to guide prescribing and regulatory policy.”
No ischemic optic neuropathy was reported with Rybelsus, and other comparators using tirzepatide.
One of the authors of the research, Dr Edward Margolin, from the department of ophthalmology at the University of Toronto, told The Guardian that Naion was likely to be “a real side-effect” of semaglutide, and faster, quicker or more aggressive weight loss would be likely to increase the risk.
Samantha Mann, a consultant ophthalmologist and diabetic eye screening lead at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, told the daily, “This study relied on reported side-effects and so cannot prove causation or determine how common this problem truly is.” She felt that further studies are required to clarify if this increased risk is indeed real.”
