Popular Weight Loss Drugs Linked to Blindness, New Study Finds [View all]

By
Nisha Zahid
February 12, 2025

Health experts are investigating whether popular weight loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro could be linked to sudden blindness in some patients.

A recent report in JAMA Ophthalmology detailed nine cases of U.S. patients who lost their sight after using drugs containing semaglutide or tirzepatide, the active ingredients in these medications. While researchers cannot confirm the drugs directly caused blindness, they say the findings warrant further study.

Cases of Sudden Vision Loss
One woman in her 50s lost sight in her left eye just one day after her first semaglutide injection for diabetes. Frightened, she stopped the drug for two months, but when she resumed treatment, she went blind in her right eye, too.

Another woman, who had taken semaglutide for a year, awoke with a dark shadow over her left eye. Doctors found damage to retinal blood vessels, leading to blindness.

A man in his 60s who was using semaglutide for 10 months noticed the vision in his right eye was getting blurry. Tests showed optic nerve swelling and bleeding in his retina. Though his symptoms improved within weeks, he eventually lost vision in his left eye. His sight returned after he stopped taking the drug for 10 weeks.

More:
https://greekreporter.com/2025/02/12/weight-loss-drugs-blindness/