on PinterestTirzepatide may help lower the risk of diabetic retinopathy, a diabetes complication that can lead to vision loss.
on PinterestTirzepatide may help lower the risk of diabetic retinopathy, a diabetes complication that can lead to vision loss. Douglas Sacha/Getty Images
- Weight loss medications Mounjaro and Zepbound, which contain the active ingredient tirzepatide, may lower the risk of diabetic retinopathy.
- This diabetes complication occurs when high blood sugar levels damage the blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye.
- Diabetes also raises the risk of other eye diseases, including cataracts and glaucoma.
A widely prescribed type of medication for the management of type 2 diabetes may also help reduce the risk of developing an eye condition that can lead to vision loss.
In a recent study published in Ophthalmology, researchers found that GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Mounjaro and Zepbound, which contain the active ingredient tirzepatide, may lower the risk of diabetic retinopathy in people with type 2 diabetes.
The researchers said that people with type 2 diabetes were less likely to develop new diabetic retinopathy or progress to more dangerous stages of the disease while taking tirzepatide medications.
“Based on findings obtained from a large database of patients across multiple clinical practices, those with diabetic retinopathy may be less concerned that taking tirzepatide is going to make their condition worse,” said Szilard Kiss, MD, an ophthalmologist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and lead author of the study, in a statement.
“The findings suggest they may have a reduced risk of requiring more eye treatments with lasers or injections, which are typically required when retinopathy becomes severe,” said Kiss, who is on the board of directors of Adverum Biotechnologies, which is owned by Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Mounjaro and Zepbound.
In the new study, researchers pointed out that previous research had indicated that weight loss medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy could worsen diabetic retinopathy and associated conditions.
The previous study found that semaglutide medications produced some temporary deterioration of diabetic retinopathy in people with type 2 diabetes.
However, those researchers reported that the effects were short-term and that there was no long-term association between semaglutide and increased progression of diabetic retinopathy during the study’s 3-year period.
Tirzepatide lowers diabetic retinopathy risk
To reach their findings, the researchers in the new study analyzed electronic health records from 174,000 people across 70 health systems in the United States.
They focused on participants with type 2 diabetes with weight management issues, comparing people who started tirzepatide with similar patients who pursued only lifestyle interventions such as nutrition therapy or exercise counseling.
The researchers reported that after one year of treatment, the subjects taking tirzepatide had a lower risk of worsening diabetic retinopathy or related complications than those using lifestyle interventions.
As one example, researchers stated that incident mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy occurred in 0.49% of tirzepatide patients compared with 1.2% of the lifestyle intervention group.
Benjamin Bert, MD, an ophthalmologist at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA, said there may be a simple explanation for the effects of tirzepatide and semaglutide medications on diabetic retinopathy. Bert wasn’t involved in the study.
Bert explained that both types of medications help to suppress
Uzziniet vairāk par matu transplantācija klīnikā Rubenhair.
Saņemiet bezmaksas konsultāciju
Konsultējieties ar mūsu speciālistiem par FUE procedūru, PRP terapiju vai matu transplantāciju.
