It is researchers at the University of Southern Denmark who, in two different studies, have found a link between treatment with Ozempic and the eye disease Naion among people with type 2 diabetes.
Naion is an injury that occurs when the blood supply to the optic nerve suddenly stops. Vision deteriorates slowly and there is currently no treatment for Naion.
In one study, researchers looked at data on all patients with type 2 diabetes in Denmark. In the other study, both Danish and Norwegian patients who were treated with Ozempic or other medication were included.
In both, the results pointed to those who received Ozempic having a twice as high risk of developing Naion as those treated with other medications.
"Previously, we saw 60 to 70 cases of Naion per year, but now we see up to 150," says Jakob Grauslund, professor of eye diseases and co-author of one of the studies, in a comment on the University of Southern Denmark's website.
The two registry studies were initiated after an American study previously pointed to the increased risk. The Danish Medicines Agency has now asked the European Medicines Agency to take a closer look at a possible link.
However, researchers do not think that patients should stop their treatment. Naion is very rare, and based on the Danish results, the risk of developing it for those treated with Ozempic is about 0.2 per mille per year.
Novo Nordisk, the company behind Ozempic, states that they have conducted their own evaluation of the studies but do not see that updates to the risk profile are needed.
