Medications to treat type-2 diabetes such as Ozempic and Semaglutide have a secondary use as rapid weight loss medications. It is so popular among western celebrities that it has led to a shortage of supplies and diabetes patients find it difficult to get treatment. Now researchers from Harvard Medical School and Mass Eye and Ear released a report that these two drugs increase the risk of blindness in those who take them.
Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (NAION) is a disease that causes the eye to slowly go blind. NAION is a disease that does not pass often but is experienced by 46 out of 1700 individuals taking drugs with active ingredients glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) such as Ozempic and Semaglutide.
The rate of this disease occurring in GLP-1 users is up to seven times higher than normal and researchers theorize that there is a link between its consumption and NAION disease. The good news here is that NAION only occurs in those who take medication to manage the body and treat obesity. No patients were detected among those with type-2 diabetes.
Although the study has been done, researchers still feel that studies with larger samples need to be done to really see the relationship between GLP-1 intake and the risk of NAION. The research paper was published in the journal JAMA Ophtomology.