Doctors appreciated the US warning about the risk of going blind from Ozempic
Ophthalmologists told who should closely monitor vision in the treatment of "Ozempic", and doubted the use of the drug with a rare eye disease. The U.S. government wants to warn patients about this risk
The warning of the US regulator about the possible risk of vision loss when taking GLP-1 drugs, including Ozempic, requires the attention of doctors and patients, but in itself does not mean the need to abandon the prescribed treatment. This was told by the ophthalmologist, ophthalmologist, ophthalmic surgeon of the highest category of the VISTA clinic Egor Kostyukov.
On November 9, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required that GLP-1 drug guidelines include a warning about a potential increased risk of non-arteritis anterior ischemic optical neuropathy (NAION). This rare disease can be accompanied by sudden painless deterioration of vision in one eye, including irreversible.
According to Kostyukov, the first signals about a possible connection concerned semaglutide, the active substance of Ozempika. The FDA's decision to extend the warning to the entire GLP-1 class is justified.
“It is important to assess the scale correctly. The absolute risk is very low, even conservatively estimated at no more than one additional case per 10,000 patients per year. Therefore, in my opinion, this is not a reason to refuse treatment prescribed according to indications, the doctor said.
Patients with diabetes, high blood pressure and obstructive sleep apnea require special attention, he said, as these conditions themselves increase the risk of NAION. Kostyukov believes that there is a connection between taking the drug with a slight increase in the risk of the disease, but a direct causal relationship has not yet been proven.
Ophthalmologist, ophthalmosurgeon "Keratoconus Center" Dmitry Sagonenko also drew attention to vascular disorders in patients with diabetes. Let me remind you that Ozempik’s main indication is diabetes, it is a sugar-lowering drug. And diabetics have problems with blood vessels, he said.
According to Sagonenko, blood supply disorders can occur both against the background of taking drugs, and independently - due to concomitant diseases or changes in the body during weight loss. At the same time, in the report of the FDA, which was examined by the doctor, he did not find specifics in which patients registered complications - with or without diabetes.
The founder and head of the network of eye clinics "Clear vision", professor, doctor of medical Sciences Igor Aznauryan considered the connection of drugs with vision loss unproven. He stressed that the presence of diabetes in a significant part of taking Ozempic makes it difficult to assess the causes of visual impairment.
Since there are many diabetics among those taking Ozempic, it is extremely difficult to determine what primarily affects the occurrence of neuropathies - the course of diabetes itself or the effect of the drug. This issue remains debatable, Aznauryan said.
Kostyukov separately pointed to the risk of a temporary deterioration of the already existing diabetic retinopathy with a rapid decrease in sugar levels. He recommended that such patients check the fundus before starting therapy and then be regularly observed by an ophthalmologist.
With a sudden deterioration in vision, you need to seek help without delay, experts stressed.
The main thing that the patient should know is that if, while taking the drug, vision in one eye suddenly deteriorated or part of the image fell out, you need to consult an ophthalmologist on the same day. There is usually no pain, so people often postpone their visit. It is impossible to do this, since visual impairment can remain forever, Kostyukov warned.
Aznauryan also recommended that you immediately consult an ophthalmologist with a sharp painless loss of vision, regardless of taking any drugs.
In June 2025, the safety committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recognized NAION as a very rare side effect of semaglutide, the active ingredient Ozempic. The regulator recommended that manufacturers update information about the drugs Ozempic, Vegovi and Ribelsus.
According to the EMA, several large epidemiological studies indicate an approximately twofold increase in the risk of NAION in adults with type II diabetes treated with semaglutide. This corresponds to approximately one additional case per 10,000 people per year of treatment. When confirming the diagnosis, the European regulator recommends discontinuing semaglutide therapy.
The pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk introduced Ozempic in 2012 as a drug for the treatment of type II diabetes. According to relevant indications, it was approved in the United States at the end of 2017, and in early 2018 in Europe. Subsequently, it turned out that Ozempik is effective in the fight against obesity, and in 2021-2022, the Danish company launched another variant of semaglutide under the Vegovi brand on the American and European markets, designed directly to combat overweight.
According to the operator of the labeling system “Honest sign” CRPT, in the first quarter of 2026, Russians bought 2.76 million packages of drugs based on semaglutide and tyrzepatide – almost three times more than a year earlier (942 thousand). In monetary terms, sales increased from 5.1 billion to 16.9 billion rubles. For the whole of 2025, 6.12 million packages worth 35.25 billion rubles were sold.
