Drugs With Tirzepatide Linked to Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (NAION)
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This Zepbound and Mounjaro Eye Side Effect NAION Information Page provides some important evidence regarding an increased risk of non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, associated with these two tirzepatide-containing drugs.
The FDA has been investigating “potential signals” of the eye side effect NAION with Mounjaro and Zepbound — the active ingredient is tirzepatide for both medications — as well as other glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist drugs, collectively referred to as GLP-1 RAs. To learn more about how Zepbound and Mounjaro might be associated with the eye side effect NAION, you can read our June 2025 Drug Injury Watch blog post, “Current FDA Safety Investigation: NAION With Mounjaro, Zepbound, and Other GLP-1 RAs”.
An August 2025 JAMA Network Open article, “Semaglutide or Tirzepatide and Optic Nerve and Visual Pathway Disorders in Type 2 Diabetes“, provided more evidence for an increased risk of non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, with Ozempic (semaglutide) or Mounjaro (tirzepatide) in diabetes patients.
Here are some of the facts presented in that August 2025 medical article regarding the Mounjaro eye side effect NAION, specifically in diabetes patients:
- Nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is characterized by loss of vision due to decreased blood flow to the optic nerve.
- The medical researchers compared Mounjaro (tirzepatide) with other antidiabetic medications for the associated risk of NAION in patients with type 2 diabetes who had no prior diagnosis of any eye disorder.
- Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a newer and more potent GLP-RA to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.
- In a population of patients with type 2 diabetes who had no prior diagnosis of eye diseases, this cohort study found that when Mounjaro (tirzepatide) was compared with other antidiabetic medications, there was an increased risk of NAION.
Besides Mounjaro, as we stated earlier, there is a second GLP-1RA drug that contains the active ingredient tirzepatide, Zepbound. That medication is used for obesity and weight loss purposes. There is some evidence that the NAION eye side effect may be associated with Zepbound, given that both drugs have the active ingredient tirzepatide.
Of course, we will continue to monitor relevant medical journals for additional studies concerning the association of NAION with Mounjaro and Zepbound. Further, we await the outcome of that FDA investigation into the eye side effect NAION with Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Free Case Evaluation for Zepbound or Mounjaro Eye Side Effect NAION
We encourage you to submit a Zepbound / Mounjaro Eye Side Effect NAION Case Evaluation Form online – it is free, confidential, and there is no obligation. Or, if you prefer, call 910-256-2971 to speak directly to attorney Tom Lamb about a possible Zepbound or Mounjaro drug injury lawsuit. Either way, you will get Mr. Lamb’s impressions – not an intake person, a paralegal, or some other lawyer – about your case based on his over 20 years of experience handling drug injury cases.
Most Recent Articles About Zepbound and Mounjaro Eye Side Effect NAION With Vision Loss
Mounjaro, Ozempic Vision Loss Lawsuits Filings Increase – 2026 News Reports
The number of vision loss lawsuits filed by patients using Ozempic and Mounjaro has increased, according to major TV news shows and national newspapers. The drug injury lawsuits involve nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), an eye-related side effect of those two medications and others in the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1) class of drugs.
To read more of this article, click below:
We begin with a September 21, 2026 NBC News report (video), “Hundreds of lawsuits filed against some GLP-1 Makers over vision loss“.
And from among the many newspaper articles about these vision loss lawsuits, we get the following from a September 18, 2026 article published by the Wall Street Journal, “Patients Sue GLP-1 Drugmakers Over Risk of Sudden Vision Loss“:
Michelle Fennell was sitting at her desk when her right eye started feeling heavy. Suddenly, it was blurry and her peripheral vision waned. It felt like she was looking through a fishbowl; she could see straight ahead but not to her right or down.
Two weeks later, a doctor diagnosed Fennell, 53 years old, with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, a condition that leads to sudden, often permanent vision loss.
The doctor asked what medicines she was taking. “He said right away, stop taking Ozempic,” to protect her remaining vision, said Fennell, who started taking the drug to treat her Type 2 diabetes six months prior. “I was shocked.”…
Fennell is one of dozens of people suing Novo, maker of the popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, claiming the medication caused this side effect
As background, to better understand what is behind this increase in vision loss lawsuit filings:
- The active ingredient semaglutide has been linked to NAION; Ozempic as well as Wegovy are semaglutide-containing drugs.
- The active ingredient tirzepatide has been linked to NAION; Mounjaro as well as Zepbound are tirzepatide-containing drugs.
- NAION is sometimes called an “eye stroke,” and it occurs when the optic nerve does not receive enough blood flow.
- NAION typically causes sudden vision loss and, in severe cases, can lead to blindness.
- There are currently no proven treatments for NAION.
- As of today (September 23, 2026), the drug labels for Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound do not include warnings about the NAION eye-related side effect of these medications and other GLP-1 drugs.
- Based on this failure to warn about NAION and the vision loss resulting from this serious side effect, NAION drug injury lawsuits have been filed against the responsible pharmaceutical companies seeking legal compensation for patients diagnosed with NAION and suffering vision loss.
Long before these 2026 newspaper articles and TV news reports about the vision loss lawsuit filings increase — since back in the summer of 2024 — we have been investigating drug injury lawsuits for patients who used Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Zepbound and have been diagnosed with NAION, or an “eye stroke”.
These NAION vision loss lawsuits for patients using Ozempic or Wegovy would be filed against Novo Nordisk, which last week announced it had shortened its name to “Novo”. For more, see our Drug Injury Law information page for this set of vision loss lawsuits: Eye-related Side Effects of Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus With Vision Loss.
Drug injury NAION vision loss lawsuits involving Mounjaro or Zepbound for patients with vision loss would be filed against Eli Lilly. For more about this set of vision loss lawsuits: Zepbound and Mounjaro Eye Side Effect NAION Information Page
For these vision loss lawsuits, we offer an online case evaluation service that is free and confidential, and without obligation:
Ozempic / Wegovy / Rybelsus Vision Loss Case Evaluation Form
Zepbound / Mounjaro Eye Side Effect NAION Case Evaluation Form
Experienced drug injury attorney Tom Lamb reviews each one of these online Case Evaluation Form submissions. Or call him at 910-256-2971 to discuss a possible NAION vision loss lawsuit.
[Read the article in full at Drug Injury Watch]Earlier articles about eye-related side effects of Mounjaro and Zepbound:
- NAION Cases Filed in Courts for Vision Loss Legal Compensation
- NAION Linked To Zepbound Mounjaro, Ozempic, Wegovy: 2026 News Update
- Mounjaro and Ozempic NAION Vision Loss Lawsuits: Federal Court MDL No. 3163
- Ozempic and Mounjaro Increased Risk of NAION More Than Other Diabetes Drugs
- NAION With Tirzepatide-containing Drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound