# FDA warns GLP-1 drugs may cause rare vision loss

> Weight loss medications including Ozempic and Wegovy will carry new warnings about a rare eye condition that can lead to permanent vision loss.
- Title: FDA warns GLP-1 drugs may cause rare vision loss · CBS News
- Summary: Weight loss medications including Ozempic and Wegovy will carry new warnings about a rare eye condition that can lead to permanent vision loss.
- Keywords: glp-1 drugs, ozempic, wegovy, zepbound, mounjaro, fda, vision loss, naion, novo nordisk, eli lilly, weight loss, diabetes
- Source: CBS News — https://cbsnews.com/news/glp-1-vision-loss-side-effect-warning-fda
- Published: 2026-11-10T00:54:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: glp-1 drugs, ozempic, wegovy, zepbound, mounjaro, fda, vision loss, naion, novo nordisk, eli lilly, weight loss, diabetes
## FDA adds vision warning to blockbuster drugs
The Food and Drug Administration announced Monday that all GLP-1 drugs, including Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound and Mounjaro, will carry new warnings about a rare vision-loss side effect.
## The condition and how it works
The eye condition, known as non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy or NAION, can cause significant vision loss. It is caused by decreased blood flow to the optic nerve, although the underlying cause is not understood.
## How the FDA discovered the risk
FDA scientists began investigating after a two thousand twenty-four medical paper tied the condition to patients taking semaglutide, the active drug in Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy.
## The risk is real but rare
An FDA analysis of more than one hundred twenty-five clinical trials found the problem occurred in roughly six of every one hundred thousand patients who took a GLP-1 for at least one year.
## Vision loss may be permanent
Symptoms include blurred vision, blind spots, distorted colors and other visual disturbances. Dr. Joseph Rizzo, a neuro-ophthalmologist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, said vision loss from the condition tends to be irreversible and can become…

> Usually when you lose vision, although there may be some mild degree of improvement, it's usually not a large degree of improvement.
## Drugmakers defend their medicines
Novo Nordisk said it continues to believe the data do not establish a cause-and-effect relationship and remains confident in the benefit-risk profile.

> The medicines have really been profoundly beneficial to a large number of people.
## Key takeaway

The FDA added warnings to all GLP-1 drugs after finding a rare vision-loss condition occurs in roughly six per one hundred thousand patients taking them for at least one year.