Caixin News, July 4th (Editor Zhao Hao) - On Wednesday (July 3rd) local time, the internationally renowned medical journal JAMA Ophthalmology, an ophthalmic sub journal of the Journal of the American Medical Association, published a study that found a correlation risk between taking semaglutide and developing non arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).
Source: JAMA Ophthalmology
This study was conducted at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, a specialized hospital for the treatment of eye, ear, nose, throat, and head and neck diseases. It is also an affiliated teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School.
The results indicate that there is a potential risk of NAION when prescribing simagliptin, but further research is needed to evaluate the causal relationship.
Source: JAMA Ophthalmology
It is understood that NAION is an acute optic neuropathy in clinical practice, which seriously endangers visual function. It is characterized by acute, typical unilateral and painless visual loss, ipsilateral relative afferent pupil defect (RAPD), and optic nerve swelling (fan-shaped or diffuse). At present, the pathogenesis of NAION is not yet clear, and visual function damage is often irreversible, with some patients ultimately losing sight.
The results showed that the probability of NAION in patients taking smeglutide for treatment of type 2 diabetes was more than 4 times (4.28 times) that in patients receiving other types of treatment; The probability of NAION in patients who take Smegglutide for weight loss is more than 7 times (7.64 times) higher than those who take other types of weight loss drugs.
The paper points out that the number of cases of NAION occurring after taking medication is very small, only 37 cases, which limits the statistical ability of the study. Harvard University researchers and other experts have stated that these findings do not prove that drugs cause eye complications and must be confirmed through more hospitals and larger scale studies.
Smeaglutide developed by Novo Nordisk is an effective component of the weight loss drug "Wegovy" and the diabetes drug "Ozempic". At present, the scientific community basically believes that such drugs are safe, but as they are used by more people, researchers are looking for whether there are previously unknown side effects.
Neuroophthalmologist Susan Mollan said, "I don't think this is a strong enough signal for patients to stop using this medication." However, Mollan mentioned that doctors should inform patients of potential risks.
Mahyar Etminan, a drug safety researcher at the University of British Columbia in Canada who was not involved in the study, said that this potential risk "definitely deserves a more careful examination". "This is a very serious situation, and if true, it should change the balance between risk and return."
Affected by this news, the US stock market of Novo Nordisk closed down 2.87% on Wednesday, with a drop of nearly 5% during the day; Lilly closed down 0.95%, with an intraday decline of over 2%.