The rising use of diabetes medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro has prompted doctors to report more cases of severe eye conditions. Research from Harvard indicated that semaglutide users are significantly more likely to develop nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). Recent findings from the University of Utah elaborate on this, presenting cases of patients who experienced NAION and other vision-related issues after using the drugs. These medications may cause rapid drops in blood sugar, potentially leading to these eye complications among patients with type 2 diabetes.
As the researchers note, all but one of the study subjects had a history of type 2 diabetes, and rapid drops in blood sugar like those that occur when taking drugs like Ozempic or Mounjaro - which belong to a class of medications glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) inhibitors that make those who take them feel fuller faster - has been linked to papillitis, and could be similar for NAION.
In a paper published in JAMA Ophthalmology, those researchers suggested that people who take semaglutide are between four and seven times as likely to develop NAION as those who don't take it.
Now, per a new paper published in that same journal, University of Utah researchers detailed the stories of several people who took either semaglutide or tirzepatide and developed eye conditions NAION and a few others that can cause partial or temporary blindness.
As far as why, one possibility is that the drugs could have caused hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar - and while lowering blood sugar is the goal of diabetes medication, some patients may be overshooting.
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