FDA adds vision-loss warning to GLP-1 drugs

Millions of Americans are taking weight loss drugs, but now there's a new warning about a rare side effect that could cause permanent vision loss. The FDA says the risk is small, but it's adding the warning. To all GLP-1 medications. So how concerned should you actually be? Dr. Anthony Araja with Synergy Longevity Centers joins us to explain the risk and the warning signs that you should not ignore. And Dr. Araja, it's good to see you. Thanks for joining us here tonight. Always great to be here. So first of all, let's get into the popularity of these drugs, these GLP weight loss drugs. How much have they taken off? We hear about it anecdotally, but is it a pretty big number? I think so, I think these medications have really changed the scope of health care. They've changed how we deliver care, they've changed what medicine I think is gonna look like for the next. For the next foreseeable future. When people talk about having struggles with weight, there's all kinds of things that doctors have recommended. Now, of course, there are some people who are taking this GLP drug. And now we're hearing the FDA say it's rare, but vision impairment is an issue. How does that all work and how common is it? It's a great question and a great point. So while the studies didn't identify the cause for it, but we know that there was a link. And it's not a causal link, but it's a link to To GLPs, where five people in the placebo group, meaning they did not receive the medication, developed this, it's called non-arteritic anterior, it's so funny, optic neuropathy. So it's a decreased blood flow to the eye. It brings itself up as painless vision loss. So it typically happens in the morning, where it's this painless vision loss, you wake up, You can't see out of an eye. That is an emergency, that is going straight to the emergency department, no pauses in between. Now, five people in the placebo group got it, ten people in the treatment group got it. And while being very rare, that's 15 people in over 134,000 people. That we're studying. So 15 and 134,000, it's a very small amount. However, they noticed it and they flagged it as, hey, this is something that can happen when you take the medication. I'm not a scientist, you are, but I do wanna ask you a little bit if we can dig in. You said there's five people in the placebo group, so they were not taking the GLP drug. Correct. They also developed it. Correct. So in other words, it's something that also occurs without the drug is- What that indicates. Yeah. So people with higher risk factors, diabetes, high blood pressure, have a predisposition to this decreased blood flow in your eye, which then manifests itself as the painless vision loss. But people who took the medication, there was that five additional people who experienced those symptoms. And so the FDA flags it and it really highlights the importance of that continuous... Trial and monitoring that the FDA does for medications. This word in the medical term that I'm not going to risk trying to butcher on TV, but you said that particular vision issue, is that more common with people who have weight challenges? Not necessarily, and funny enough, I butchered it even though I was practicing it outside. Yeah, that's right. What it comes with is other comorbidities. So things like diabetes and high blood pressure can predispose you to these kinds of vision losses, kind of equivalent of like stroke-like symptoms, but related to the eye. So is it possible then that out of all the people, including the placebo, who didn't take it, they all were dealing with similar health issues and that's why some of them That's correct. Wow. That's correct. So, you know, one thing for us to think about is that we don't know that this is causal. It doesn't mean that you need to stop taking your medication. It means you need to have a discussion if you're concerned with your physician and say, hey, you know, I read about this, I saw this. For myself, are my risks high enough that I should stop this med or not? Again, extremely rare, 15 people out of 134,000. However, it's a real risk, and losing your vision sometimes is not worth the benefit of being on this medication. But it has to be a personalized decision, one that you have with your physician. Absolutely. And again, this is a very small number. As you say, it's not causal. That's also very important to remember, but it's something that we should keep. No pun intended, our eyes on, and we will continue to do that. Absolutely. We'll do it with your watchful eyes. Absolutely. Dr. Araja, great to see you. Great to be here. Dr. Anthony Araja with Synergy Longevity Centers, thank you so much.