Ziyad Al-Aly, MD✓

What happens to the heart when people stop GLP-1 drugs? The short answer: nothing good. New from our team: a study of 330,000+ people in @BMJMedicine 🧵

Can Ozempic prevent cancer? Several large studies suggest it might. But the excitement is running ahead of the evidence. In @ConversationUS, I explain what the evidence actually shows and why these studies are so easy to misread.

GLP-1 drugs are associated with a 35% higher risk of NAION, an eye condition that can cause sudden vision loss. About 6 to 10 extra cases per 10,000 users over 3 years. The association is specific to NAION. No other eye conditions were affected.

A thread detailing the study results here:

Do GLP-1 drugs increase the risk of vision loss? Specifically, a condition called NAION: a sudden loss of blood flow to the optic nerve that can cause vision loss. We looked at this in 588,000 people. The answer, in our new @JAMANetworkOpen paper, is yes. 🧵

Paper here:

I am watching the hantavirus outbreak carefully. The probability of human to human transmission is low, but it is unwise to rule it out. The ship sailed from Argentina where Andes virus, the only hantavirus with documented human to human transmission, is endemic.

What this means clinically: The absolute risk is low. But NAION can be serious. Patients starting GLP-1 drugs should know to seek urgent care for changes in vision. Clinicians should counsel patients on this risk, especially those at high baseline risk of NAION.

Led by @Biostayan and Taeyoung Choi. Full paper in @JAMANetworkOpen

Do GLP-1 drugs cause pancreatitis? Trials have not shown a clear increase. Reports from patients say yes. Observational studies are split. We looked at this in 333,000 people. The answer, in our new @BMJMedicine, is more interesting than yes or no. 🧵

Bottom line: the answer to "do GLP-1s cause pancreatitis?" depends on the cause of pancreatitis.

Paper led by Yan Xie @Biostayan and Taeyoung Choi. Full paper here: