People with diabetes can also have the potentially blinding vision condition diabetic retinopathy.There is currently no cure for diabetic retinopathy.
A new study has found that semaglutide — the active ingredient found in some GLP-1 medications prescribed for diabetes and to aid weight loss — may help protect the eyes from diabetic retinopathy.
According to the International Diabetes Federation, about 11% of the world’s population lives with diabetes, with 90% having type 2 diabetes.
Researchers estimate that as much as 40% of all people with diabetes also have diabetic retinopathy — a potentially blinding eye condition caused by blood vessel damage in the eye’s retina.
There is currently no cure for diabetic retinopathy. The condition is often managed through injections of anti-VEGF medications into the eye, surgery, and blood sugar monitoring and control.
Past studies also show that anti-VEGF injections may help prevent diabetic retinopathy and its complications, as well as healthy lifestyle factors like managing blood pressure, lowering cholesterol levels, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet, and not smokingTrusted Source.
Now, a new study recently published in the journal Pharmaceutics has found that semaglutide — the active ingredient found in GLP-1 medicationsTrusted Source like Ozempic for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss — may help protect the eyes from diabetic retinopathy.
For this lab-based study, researchers used samples of human retinal endothelial cells that were treated with different concentrations of semaglutide. The cells were then placed in a solution with both a high glucose level and high level of oxidative stress — where there is an imbalance of antioxidants and free radicals — for 24 hours.
At the study’s conclusion, researchers found that the retinal cells treated with semaglutide were twice as likely to survive than cells that were untreated. Additionally, the treated cells were found to have larger stores of energy.
