Oral, Injected Semaglutide May Pose Distinct Eye Risks

TOPLINE: 

An prognosis of files from the US Food and Drug Administration Detrimental Tournament Reporting Blueprint (FAERS) database published differences in patterns of ocular events linked to oral and injectable formulations of semaglutide, with injectable formulations linked to the next frequency of retinal complications.

METHODOLOGY:

• The FDA has licensed semaglutide as both a subcutaneous injection for treating form 2 diabetes and weight problems and as a tablet for treating form 2 diabetes, prompting researchers to look at the diversities in the possibility for ocular events between these formulations.
• Researchers extracted files from the FAERS database from 2004 via 2024, specializing in unfavorable drug events linked to use of semaglutide, and categorized the records by mode of administration of semaglutide.
• The survey also examined factors akin to intercourse, age, and time to the onset of unfavorable drug events.

TAKEAWAY:

• Researchers examined 1733 reports of ocular unfavorable drug events, comprising 1541 and 192 cases linked to injectable kinds and oral tablets, respectively; more than 50% of unfavorable drug events linked to both formulations had been classified as nonserious.
• Time-to-onset prognosis stumbled on most unfavorable events took place all over the major month of administration; nonetheless, the median time to the onset of unfavorable drug events linked to the oral system used to be 3.5 days, half of that seen for injectable kinds (7 days).
• Ladies had been more likely than men to yarn an unfavorable drug match, no matter the system (62.72% vs 33.47%). Ocular events had been more traditional in patients archaic 45-64 years.
• The frequency of blurred vision and visual impairment used to be slightly high with both formulations of semaglutide; unfavorable drug events linked to the retina had been more traditional with subcutaneous injections than with the oral system.

IN PRACTICE:

“It’s beneficial that patients be closely monitored for indicators akin to blurred vision and visual impairment throughout the major month of remedy, especially bearing on retinopathy linked to subcutaneous injections,” the researcher wrote.

SOURCE:

The survey used to be led by Tao Zhao, of Nanfang Health center and Southern Clinical College in Guangzhou, China. It used to be printed on-line on April 28, 2025, in BMC Ophthalmology.

LIMITATIONS:

The FAERS database is a spontaneous reporting machine, that will presumably perchance bear affected the everyday and amount of analyzed knowledge. The prognosis didn’t account for the elevate out of likely confounding factors akin to drug interactions, earlier well being prerequisites, and use of a couple of medicines. 

DISCLOSURES:

The survey got make stronger from the Guangzhou Baiyun District Dean’s Fund Project and Guangzhou Health Science and Technology Project. The authors declared no conflicts of interests.

This text used to be created utilizing plenty of editorial instruments, including AI, as portion of the job. Human editors reviewed this sigh material sooner than e-newsletter.