Diabetes is the main cause Loss of vision According to the American Diabetes Association, in people ages 18 to 64, the best way to prevent this is to control blood sugar levels.
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1) such as Ozempic and Munjaro have become popular drugs for controlling diabetes. Treatment of obesity -But new Canadian studies suggest that they could lead to paradoxical side effects in the form of eye problems.
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The retrospective study conducted from January 2020 to November 2023 included over 139,000 diabetic patients. I’ll take the medicine For three years.
The average age of participants was 66 years old, with approximately 47% being female.
Researchers found participants were taking the medicine Weight loss drugs The risk of developing angiogenic age-related macular degeneration (NAMD) was twice as high.
“Reports are increasing. [eye] Although it is an adverse event with GLP-1 receptor agonists, there is no clear consensus regarding the effect on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) progression,” said Fox News Digital, PhD, Ophthalmologist and Vice Chair, and Vice Chair of Clinical Research in Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Toronto.
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“We have observed a dose-response relationship in particular. The longer patients are exposed to these drugs, the higher the risk it appears,” added Reut Shor, a researcher at the University of Toronto’s Department of Ophthalmology.
The findings were published in the journal Jama Ophthalmology.
According to the American Association of Retinal Professionals, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of vision loss in people over the age of 50 in developing countries.
Approximately 20 million adults in the United States are in their state.
It mainly affects people’s influence A central visionwhich means they have difficult times to see in front of them, but according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), their peripheral vision is unharmed.
There are two types of AMDs, dry and wet.
The most common type of dry AMD, occurs when small yellow deposits of protein occur under the macula, but symptoms may not develop at the early stages, experts said.
In approximately 2 cases per 10 cases, dry AMD develops into wet AMD. This is also known as neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NAMD).
This more advanced type of disease causes abnormal blood vessels to form under the retina and begin to leak, causing damage to the central part of the retina known as the macula, according to webMD.
“When this occurs, symptoms include loss of central vision, distortions in vision, and blank areas lacking in central vision,” Nishika Reddy, MD, assistant professor of ophthalmology at Mid Valley Health Center at the University of Utah, told Fox News Digital. (She was not part of the research.)
NAMD risk factors include Chronic Heart FailureChronic kidney disease and diabetes – often overlap with people taking GLP-1, experts confirmed.
The study authors warned that their findings should be taken in the context of the overall high risk of eye disease in older adults.
The incidence of NAMD in the general population is approximately 1 in 1,000, doubled to 1,000 in the GLP-1 group In research.
However, the overall absolute risk is still small, according to researchers.
The main limitation of this study is that it is essentially observational. That is, the researchers were unable to confirm that GLP-1S drugs cause neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
The study also failed to reach conclusions about the younger population, the researchers acknowledged.
“In addition, our findings apply only to diabetic patients over the age of 66 and cannot be generalized directly to non-diabetic individuals using GLP-1 receptor agonists. For weight loss“Sholl told Fox News Digital.
GLP-1 receptors are present in the retina regardless of age Diabetic status – So, in theory, risk could apply to younger populations.
More research is needed to better understand why GLP-1 diabetic patients have increased eye disease, according to Shor.
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“While there is a low risk of developing macular degeneration while using GLP-1 drugs, patients need to recognize the possible ocular side effects associated with these types of drugs,” Reddy said.
According to Muni, if someone notices a blurred vision, distorted vision, a wavy angle, or a new blind spot, or a new blind spot, they should seek medical attention.
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Early detection of eye diseases is extremely important, experts agree. Timely treatment It reduces the risk of vision loss.
The study authors said they hope their findings will allow patients to monitor early symptoms.
