What’s new

A dated log of regulatory actions, statements, and studies

Reviewed by Dr. James Deom, OD, MPH, FAAO, FSLS, Chief of Eye Care Services, Hazleton Eye Specialists Last reviewed: November 12, 2026 Audience: Clinicians, and patients who want more detail

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Newest first. Each entry links to its source. Where only the year of publication is listed, the exact month was not confirmed. For how the studies compare, see the study comparison; every source is also on the reference list.

2026

November 12, 2026 — Site update. New condition pages, patient guides, prescriber pages on IIH and diabetic retinopathy early worsening, a GCA checklist, and letter templates published. Also added: Eye imaging explained (OCT, OCTA, and retinal photography) and a Risk factors section on blood pressure, weight, and sleep apnea.
November 2026 — AAO statement on GLP-1 RAs and diabetic retinopathy. Recommends an initial period of increased retinopathy monitoring for patients with diabetes starting a GLP-1 RA, especially with poorly controlled baseline A1c; describes evidence that GLP-1 RAs themselves worsen retinopathy as mixed and not conclusive. AAO
November 9, 2026 — FDA class labeling. FDA requires all GLP-1 RA labels to add a potential increased risk of NAION to Warnings and Precautions, and still describes NAION as rare. FDA Drug Safety Communication
November 9, 2026 — AOA comment on the FDA action, as reported by Optometry Times (the official AOA statement was not opened). Optometry Times
September 22, 2026 — AAO and NANOS news release, “What the Data Say About GLP-1 Drugs and Vision Loss.” AAO
May 2026 — AAO/NANOS consensus statement on GLP-1 RAs and NAION risk: possible small increased risk, causation not shown; no routine exam solely to assess NAION risk; individualized decisions after NAION. AAO
2026 — Ueda P, et al., nationwide cohort study of GLP-1 RAs and AION. Ann Intern Med. 2026;179(9):1232-1243. Journal
2026 — Noh Y, et al., GLP-1 RAs and NAION in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2026;49(5):763-771. Journal
2026 — Chrzanowski J, et al., systematic review and meta-analysis of semaglutide and NAION in T2D. PLoS Med. 2026;23(5):e1005064. Journal
2026 — Dhivagaran T, et al., meta-analysis of GLP-1 RAs and NAION. Neurology. 2026;106(10):e214864. Journal
2026 — Lieberman RA, et al., military health system cohort reporting no increased NAION risk with semaglutide in T2D (an unexpected-direction finding, not proof of protection). Mil Med. 2026;191(5-6):e1020. Journal
2026 — Meta-analysis in Ophthalmology: pooled estimate for semaglutide and NAION not statistically significant. Journal

2025

June 27, 2025 — WHO information note on semaglutide medicines and NAION. WHO
June 6, 2025 (revised June 13) — EMA PRAC concludes NAION is a very rare side effect of semaglutide (up to 1 in 10,000). EMA
June 2025 — AOA clinical report on GLP-1 RAs (Evidence-Based Optometry), including baseline exam timing. AOA (PDF)
2025 — Several large database studies with differing results, including Cai et al. (OHDSI network), Hsu et al., Abbass et al., and McDonald and Fung (JAMA Ophthalmol., Am J Ophthalmol.). See the study comparison.

2024

December 18, 2024 — Grauslund J, et al., Danish cohort of people with type 2 diabetes. Int J Retina Vitreous. Journal
2024 — Chou CC, et al., multinational study finding no significant association. Ophthalmology. Journal
2024 — Hathaway JT, et al., single-center cohort that drew wide attention to semaglutide and NAION. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2024;142(8):732-739. Journal

How this log is kept

New entries are added when a regulator, a major professional society, or a large peer-reviewed study changes the picture. Pages affected by an entry are re-reviewed and their “last reviewed” dates updated. See the review policy.

Dr. Deom’s recommendation (clinical opinion / practice recommendation)

Dr. James Deom recommends that everyone starting or taking a GLP-1 medication have a comprehensive dilated eye exam with OCT, OCT angiography (OCTA), and retinal photography (fundus photos with autofluorescence) as a baseline and for follow-up, and seek same-day care for sudden vision loss.

This is his clinical opinion and practice recommendation, not a society mandate. AAO and NANOS do not recommend routine examination solely to predict NAION, and no exam or imaging test reliably predicts or prevents an acute event. The baseline is intended to document disc anatomy and retinal status for later comparison and to detect other eye disease. See the study comparison for where professional positions agree and differ.

Dr. James Deom’s personal clinical thought

This is his opinion, not established evidence. It is not a finding from the studies or a position of the FDA, EMA, AAO, NANOS, or AOA.

As patients lose weight and their overall health improves on GLP-1 medicines, blood pressure and cholesterol medicines are often not re-addressed. Over-treatment of blood pressure may lead to hypotension, which can worsen at night and could cause nighttime hypoperfusion of the optic nerve. That sequence would fit the typical presentation of NAION (vision loss noticed on waking).

He recommends that people on GLP-1 medicines also improve exercise and diet, and keep regular visits with their usual doctors, even if that clinician did not prescribe the GLP-1, so the rest of their care, including blood pressure, is maintained.

For prescribers: consider reviewing antihypertensive dosing and timing (including bedtime dosing) as weight drops. Coordinate changes with the patient’s usual clinician when someone else wrote the GLP-1 prescription.

Medical disclaimer. This page is for education. It is not a clinical practice guideline. Information is current as of the “last reviewed” date and may change as new research is published.