Scientists discover surprising side effect of GLP-1 drug and it involves your eyes
The medication has seen a boom within the weight loss industry in recent years, with many celebrities sharing their success stories in combating obesity with the help of the drug.
Now it turns out GLP-1 - which was originally developed to treat insulin resistance - could come with some beneficial side effects beyond weight loss.
This is according to a team of scientists who made this discovery while analysing how the medication impacts patients.
In a paper published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, researchers found that the drug has the potential to lower the risk of vision loss.
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The paper explains: “Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in older adults. Whilst glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are increasingly prescribed for obesity management, their potential impact on AMD risk in individuals without diabetes remains unclear.”
The study, which was led by Cheng-Hsien Hung, a clinical pharmacology researcher from Chung Shan Medical University in Taiwan, analyzed data from over 157,000 matched patients and ultimately found that ‘GLP-1RA use is associated with a reduced risk of incident AMD’.
The paper highlighted that this is ‘statistically significant for unspecified AMD’ and has the potential to ‘trend towards a lower risk of nonexudative AMD in obese adults without diabetes’.
The paper added: “Whether this reflects direct GLP-1RA neuroprotective mechanisms, greater weight-loss magnitude or both remains to be determined. Further mechanistic research and prospective clinical trials are warranted.”
Medical experts warn GLP-1 users about a dangerous mistake
While there are many benefits to the weight loss drug, experts are warning the public about a mistake some patients are making when taking it.
Dr Carol Eisenstat spoke with the Daily Mail where she revealed that some users are switching between different forms of the medication in a bid to shift the weight quicker, but she warns that this is not advised.
She explained: “We’re seeing far more patients asking to switch between GLP-1 medications.
“Sometimes it’s because of side effects, sometimes insurance changes, sometimes the medication just isn’t giving them the results they expected. Switching itself isn’t dangerous, but it shouldn’t be done casually.”
Dr Eisenstat went on to detail how different weight loss injections ‘work slightly differently’ from one another and are often ‘prescribed on different dosing schedules and can produce different side-effect profiles’.
She continued: “You can’t assume that because you were fine on one, you’ll not suffer side effects on another. That’s one of the biggest misconceptions I try to dispel in my practice.”