Updates in Non-Arteritic Ischemic Optic Neuropathy - Part 2
Release Date: 01/23/2026
Neurology Minute
In the second episode of this two-part series, Drs. Justin Abbatemarco, Valérie Biousse, and Nancy J. Newman discuss the risk of non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy and how to counsel patients around GLP-1 medications. Show transcript: Dr. Justin Abbatemarco: Hello and welcome back. This is Justin Abbatemarco again with Valarie Biousse and Nancy Newman talking about non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy. I think the other major point that we had a discussion in the podcast was around the GLP-1 medications, which you mentioned have been truly life-changing for diabetes...
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In part one of this two-part series, Drs. Justin Abbatemarco, Valérie Biousse, and Nancy J. Newman discuss common myths around non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). Show transcript: Dr. Justin Abbatemarco: Hello and welcome. This is Justin Abbatemarco, and I just got done interviewing Valérie Biousse and Nancy Newman on all things around non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. I think one of my favorite takeaways from our interview were breaking some common myths around this disorder. Valérie and Nancy, could you maybe talk about one or two that you think are...
info_outlineNeurology Minute
In part one of this two-part series, Drs. Justin Abbatemarco, Valérie Biousse, and Nancy J. Newman discuss common myths around non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). Show transcript: Dr. Justin Abbatemarco: Hello and welcome. This is Justin Abbatemarco, and I just got done interviewing Valérie Biousse and Nancy Newman on all things around non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. I think one of my favorite takeaways from our interview were breaking some common myths around this disorder. Valérie and Nancy, could you maybe talk about one or two that you think are...
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Dr. Margarita Fedorova outlines how genetic, environmental, and pathological factors interact in Parkinson’s disease and what this means for patient counseling. Show citation: Blauwendraat C, Morris HR, Van Keuren-Jensen K, Noyce AJ, Singleton AB. The temporal order of genetic, environmental, and pathological risk factors in Parkinson's disease: paving the way to prevention. Lancet Neurol. 2025;24(11):969-975. doi: Show transcript: Dr. Margarita Federova: Welcome to Neurology Minute. My name is Margarita Fedorova, and I'm a neurology resident at the Cleveland Clinic....
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Dr. Tesha Monteith highlights the American Headache Society's position statement, which advocates for migraine screening in girls and women. Show citation: Schwedt TJ, Starling AJ, Ailani J, et al. Routine migraine screening as a standard of care for Women's health: A position statement from the American Headache Society. Headache. Published online December 10, 2025. doi: Show transcript: Dr. Tesha Monteith: Hi, this is Tesha Monteith with the Neurology Minute. Welcome back to our Women's Health and Headache Medicine series. Did you know the American Headache Society recently...
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In the final installment of this series, Dr. Justin Abbatemarco and Dr. Divyanshu Dubey discuss the latest findings and some non-occupational exposures. Show citation: Hinson SR, Gupta P, Paramasivan NK, et al. Neural synaptic vesicle autoimmunity following aerosolized porcine neural tissue exposure: insights into autoimmune inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy. EBioMedicine. 2025;122:106053. doi: Show transcript: Dr. Justin Abbatemarco: Hello, and welcome back. This is Justin Abbatemarco. I'm here with Divyanshu Dubey, discussing his article, Neural Synaptic...
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In part one of this two-part series, Dr. Justin Abbatemarco and Dr. Divyanshu Dubey discuss the original patient cohort with occupational exposure, what motivated this line of research, and the key findings from the initial workup. Show citation: Hinson SR, Gupta P, Paramasivan NK, et al. Neural synaptic vesicle autoimmunity following aerosolized porcine neural tissue exposure: insights into autoimmune inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy. EBioMedicine. 2025;122:106053. doi: Show transcript: Dr. Justin Abbatemacro: Hello and welcome. This is Justin Abbatemacro. And I'm...
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In the second installment of this two-part series, Drs. Stacey Clardy, Ayush Gupta, and Kuntal Sen discuss the most practical testing approach to minimize both under‑ and over‑testing for these disorders. Show citation: Gupta A, Sahjwani D, Kahn I, Gombolay GY, Sen K. Monogenic Mimics of Neuroinflammatory Phenotypes in Children and Young Adults: An Evolving Landscape. Neurol Genet. 2025;11(6):e200326. Published 2025 Nov 25. doi: Show transcript: Dr. Stacey Clardy: Hi, this is Stacey Clardy from the Salt Lake City VA in the University of Utah. For a two-part podcast series this...
info_outlineNeurology Minute
In the second installment of this two-part series, Drs. Stacey Clardy, Ayush Gupta, and Kuntal Sen discuss the most practical testing approach to minimize both under‑ and over‑testing for these disorders. Show citation: Gupta A, Sahjwani D, Kahn I, Gombolay GY, Sen K. Monogenic Mimics of Neuroinflammatory Phenotypes in Children and Young Adults: An Evolving Landscape. Neurol Genet. 2025;11(6):e200326. Published 2025 Nov 25. doi: Show transcript: Dr. Stacey Clardy: Hi, this is Stacey Clardy from the Salt Lake City VA in the University of Utah. For a two-part podcast series this...
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Dr. Aaron Zelikovich discusses the utility of neurofilament light chain as a serum biomarker in peripheral neuropathy. Show citation: Karam C. Clinical Utility of Serum Neurofilament Light Chain in Peripheral Neuropathy. Muscle Nerve. 2026;73(1):86-92. doi: Show transcript: Dr. Aaron Zelikovich: Welcome to today's neurology minute. My name is Aaron Zelikovich, a neuromuscular specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Today, we will discuss a recent article on the utility of neurofilament light chain as a serum biomarker in peripheral neuropathy. It has been studied in...
info_outlineIn the second episode of this two-part series, Drs. Justin Abbatemarco, Valérie Biousse, and Nancy J. Newman discuss the risk of non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy and how to counsel patients around GLP-1 medications.
Show transcript:
Dr. Justin Abbatemarco:
Hello and welcome back. This is Justin Abbatemarco again with Valarie Biousse and Nancy Newman talking about non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy. I think the other major point that we had a discussion in the podcast was around the GLP-1 medications, which you mentioned have been truly life-changing for diabetes management and obesity.
Can we talk about the risk of non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy and how you're counseling patients around this class of medications?
Dr. Nancy J. Newman:
Absolutely. This is probably one of the most difficult things we are dealing with because it is something that is in process and progress right now. We don't have all the information yet, but it would appear that there is likely a small association of about slightly less than two times risk in patients who are taking these medications of having NAION with a resultant still very, very small overall risk. And it is not necessarily causal.
This has prompted the European Medicines Agency to say that these patients should have their GLP-1 RAs stopped if they have NAION. Our own FDA and certainly the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society have not taken that step, but have suggested that this be shared decision-making, not only with the person who makes this diagnosis of an NAION in the patient, but with their primary care doctor or the provider who has felt that a GLP-1 receptor agonist is important for this patient's treatment and health.
Dr. Justin Abbatemarco:
More to come. We're going to have you back to have discussions as we learn more and better understand the disease and how we help our patients with both their diagnosis and treatment. Thank you so much for your time.