Parker Waichman LLP<\/a>, also is on the steering committee for more than 130 cases like hers.<\/p>\nThey\u2019re all part of a multi district lawsuit going before a Philadelphia judge. All of the plaintiffs got NAION or non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy after taking GLP-1s.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt comes on suddenly, you don\u2019t feel it, and then it\u2019s permanent,\u201d said Goldstein.<\/p>\n
NAION is essentially an eye stroke caused by restricted blood flow. It\u2019s not painful, but it is irreversible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a client who is as young as 33-years-old who has developed this\u2026 I have a client from New York, a 48-year-old gentleman, lost it in both eyes,\u201d said Goldstein.<\/p>\n
MORE 2 INVESTIGATES:<\/b><\/p>\n
Norvo Nordisk and Lilly are the two big makers of GLP-1s including Wegovy, Ozempic, Monjouro and Zepbound.<\/p>\n
Both companies said patient safety is their top priority.<\/p>\n
Lilly sent this statement:<\/p>\n
\u201cPatient safety is Lilly\u2019s top priority. We actively monitor, evaluate, and report safety information for all our medicines to the FDA. As part of our routine safety review process for Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide) we have ongoing discussions with regulators regarding potential safety topics, and we will continue to review data, including any data regarding ophthalmic issues. Recent literature has concluded that the \u201cevidence does not establish a causal relationship between GLP-1RAs and NAION.\u201d If anyone is experiencing side effects when taking a Lilly medicine, they should talk to their doctor or other healthcare professional.\u201d<\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk said it conducted its own study of 96,000 patients and found no increased risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce it happens, it\u2019s permanent. There\u2019s no going back so, it\u2019s scary,\u201d said Wirth.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit states there is a risk and the companies knew about it from a 2024 study published in JAMA Ophthalmology which found a link between GLP1s and blindness yet decided not to list it as a rare side effect.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Europe the label has been updated for semaglutide which is what Wegovy and Ozempic is to warn about this rare condition in the U.K., the same thing,\u201d said Goldstein.<\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy, sent this statement:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe FDA is currently conducting a comprehensive epidemiological study to evaluate the potential safety signal and has not revised the currently approved labels for GLP-1 therapies to include NAION as a potential side effect.<\/p>\n
Patient safety is our top priority, and we take all reports of adverse events related to the use of our medicines very seriously.<\/p>\n
Semaglutide has demonstrated a wide range of benefits within the GLP-1 class beyond glycemic control and weight loss, particularly for people with cardiometabolic disease. Considering the totality of evidence from clinical trials, post-marketing reports, and<\/p>\n
observational studies, alongside the generally low incidence rate of NAION, Novo Nordisk believes that the benefit-risk profile of semaglutide remains favorable.<\/p>\n
We remain committed to patient safety and transparency by maintaining up-to-date safety information and collaborating closely with health authorities and regulatory bodies worldwide.<\/p>\n
In addition, Novo Nordisk conducted a pooled analysis of all randomized, placebo-controlled trials of liraglutide and semaglutide (involving more than 96,000 patients) and found no increased risk of NAION associated with either GLP-1 therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wirth lost a lot when she lost her eyesight.<\/p>\n
She had to quit her job and she lost her independence.<\/p>\n
She can no longer drive and relies on her husband instead.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now because my depth perception is so off when he\u2019s driving, I\u2019m always telling him you\u2019re too close, you\u2019re too close, and he\u2019s not,\u201d said Wirth.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I just smile and keep driving,\u201d said her husband.<\/p>\n
Wirth still has her sense of humor.<\/p>\n
But as a former nurse she is serious about getting the warning out to patients about the possible link between GLP-1 weight loss drugs and the risk of blindness.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I would have read that there\u2019s a possibility that I could lose my vision, I would\u2019ve never taken this drug. I just, I mean your eyesight is not anything you can get back and it\u2019s a permanent loss,\u201d said Wirth.<\/p>\n
Choi reached out to the FDA and CDC.<\/p>\n
The CDC said it may be important to see an ophthalmologist for a baseline and routine follow up eye exam, in addition to seeing your regular healthcare provider if you\u2019re on GLP-1s.<\/p>\n
The FDA has not responded yet.<\/p>\n
It could take years for the outcome of this lawsuit, and another one before the same judge involving possible stomach paralysis from GLP-1s.<\/p>\n
WSB-TV will stay on both lawsuits.<\/p>\n
[SIGN UP: <\/b>WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ATLANTA \u2014 A Georgia woman said her GLP-1 weight loss drug made her blind. She said she took…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":949378,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[11],"tags":[382205,5672,382206,1761,18179,104234,100912,3655,19635,54753,85853,10000,8833,3654,308413,210,1142,135761,125138,225979,382207,382208,117236,1083,1060,308849,8460,121922,22750,13987,20927,61507,382209,3535,19153,81821,159,15209,382210,110708,69538,1190,9226,382211,67,132,68,237772,2402,428,3851],"class_list":["post-949377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-0-25-mg","tag-administration","tag-agonist","tag-biology","tag-chemistry","tag-clinical","tag-container","tag-diabetes","tag-disease","tag-display","tag-dosage","tag-drug","tag-endocrinology","tag-glp-1","tag-glucagon","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-hormone","tag-injectable","tag-injection","tag-injection-pen","tag-instructions","tag-label","tag-medical","tag-medication","tag-metabolic","tag-needle","tag-package","tag-packaging","tag-patient","tag-pen","tag-pharmaceutical","tag-prefilled","tag-prescription","tag-product","tag-receptor","tag-science","tag-semaglutide","tag-subcutaneous","tag-syringe","tag-therapeutic","tag-therapy","tag-treatment","tag-turquoise","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-vial","tag-wegovy","tag-weight-loss","tag-white"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=949377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/949378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=949377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=949377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=949377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}