Ozempic more than doubles vision loss in patients with type 2 diabetes; permanent telehealth services for sleep medicine; bat feces used to fertilize cannabis leaves 2 dead from rare fungal infection – Morning Medical Update

Type 2 diabetes patients treated with Ozempic have more than double the risk of developing damage to the optic nerve of the eye

Two independent studies from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) by Jakob Grauslund, professor of ophthalmology, and Anton Pottegård, professor of pharmaceuticals, used different methods to investigate all Danish users of Ozempic. After examining all 424,152 Danes with type 2 diabetes, and all 106,454 Danes who use Ozempic to treat their condition, they confirmed a concern that Ozempic more than doubles the risk of the rare condition, non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), which can lead to severe and permanent loss of vision.

“Whereas we used to see between 60 and 70 cases of NAION per year, we are now seeing up to 150,” the researchers wrote in a university release. “In addition, we have noticed that the patients who come to hospital due to NAION are more often patients with type 2 diabetes.”

AASM advocates for permanent sleep telehealth services

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has issued a statement in favor of permanent telehealth coverage for sleep medicine as current telehealth flexibilities as implemented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are set to expire this month. The statement, published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, emphasizes the role that telehealth plays in providing high-quality, patient-centered care for patients with sleep disorders.

Bat feces used to fertilize cannabis plant leaves 2 men dead from rare fungal infection

Two men from Rochester, New York, have died of a rare fungal infection which they contracted from bat feces (guano), they had used—or planned to use—as fertilizer to grow cannabis. The men developed histoplasmosis, a rare form of pneumonia, after breathing in spores of a fungus known as Histoplasma capsulatum from the guano. Each year, roughly 1 to 2 per 100,000 people in the U.S. are infected with histoplasmosis, with only about 1% of people exposed to H. capsulatum develop symptoms, usually within three to 17 days following exposure, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to a report of their cases, published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases, the men developed fever, chronic cough, extensive weight loss, blood poisoning and respiratory failure, before being hospitalized and dying of their illnesses. Live Science has the full story.