Do weight-loss drugs lead to stroke, blindness?

Researchers at Mass General Brigham have found that patients taking the commonly prescribed medications Ozempic and Wegovy for diabetes and weight loss have a higher likelihood of experiencing an optic nerve stroke, which can lead to blindness.

The study revealed that semaglutide, marketed as Ozempic and Wegovy, was prescribed to diabetics and increased their risk of developing non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) by more than four times. NAION is a condition caused by a blockage in the arteries supplying blood to the optic nerve, leading to oxygen deprivation and potential vision loss. Affecting 10 out of 100,000 people in the general population, NAION currently has no known cure.

Harvard University researchers analyzed data from 16,827 patients at the Mass Eye and Ear, a Harvard teaching hospital, over a six-year period. Their study, published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology, included 710 patients with type 2 diabetes, of whom 194 were prescribed semaglutide.

The study also included 975 overweight or obese patients, with 361 of these individuals being prescribed semaglutide. Among the type 2 diabetes patients, 17 NAION events occurred in those prescribed semaglutide, compared to six events in patients on other diabetes medications. Over three years, 8.9% of semaglutide users experienced NAION, compared to 1.8% of those on other drugs.

Moreover, the study found that overweight or obese patients prescribed semaglutide were more than seven times more likely to develop NAION than those on other weight-loss medications.