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Peg-intron and Optic neuropathy - a phase IV clinical study of FDA data

Summary:

Optic neuropathy is reported as a side effect among people who take Peg-intron (peginterferon alfa-2b), especially for people who are male, 50-59 old, have been taking the drug for 1 - 6 months also take Rebetol, and have Hepatitis c.

The phase IV clinical study analyzes which people have Optic neuropathy when taking Peg-intron. It is created by eHealthMe based on reports of 11,138 people who have side effects when taking Peg-intron from the FDA, and is updated regularly.

What is Peg-intron?

Peg-intron has active ingredients of peginterferon alfa-2b. eHealthMe is studying from 11,142 Peg-intron users. Check the latest studies of Peg-intron.

What is Optic neuropathy?

Optic neuropathy (optic nerve damage) is found to be associated with 258 drugs and 451 conditions by eHealthMe. Check the latest studies of Optic neuropathy.

On Jul, 06, 2026

11,138 people reported to have side effects when taking Peg-intron.
Among them, 15 people (0.13%) have Optic neuropathy.

Could Peg-intron cause Optic neuropathy?

Among these 15 people:

How long have people been on Peg-intron when they have Optic neuropathy? *

  • < 1 month: 0.0 %
  • 1 - 6 months: 77.78 %
  • 6 - 12 months: 22.22 %
  • 1 - 2 years: 0.0 %
  • 2 - 5 years: 0.0 %
  • 5 - 10 years: 0.0 %
  • 10+ years: 0.0 %

What is the gender of people who have Optic neuropathy when taking Peg-intron? *

  • female: 20 %
  • male: 80 %

What is the age of people who have Optic neuropathy when taking Peg-intron? *

  • 0-1: 0.0 %
  • 2-9: 0.0 %
  • 10-19: 0.0 %
  • 20-29: 0.0 %
  • 30-39: 21.43 %
  • 40-49: 28.57 %
  • 50-59: 50.0 %
  • 60+: 0.0 %

What are other drugs people take besides Peg-intron? *

  1. Rebetol: 10 people, 66.67%
  2. Ribavirin: 5 people, 33.33%
  3. Ibuprofen: 2 people, 13.33%
  4. Effexor: 2 people, 13.33%
  5. Acetaminophen: 2 people, 13.33%
  6. Zoloft: 1 person, 6.67%
  7. Tylenol: 1 person, 6.67%
  8. Prilosec: 1 person, 6.67%
  9. Metoclopramide: 1 person, 6.67%
  10. Allegra: 1 person, 6.67%

What are other side effects people have besides Optic neuropathy? *

  1. Papilloedema (optic disc swelling): 7 people, 46.67%
  2. Blindness: 5 people, 33.33%
  3. Visual Acuity Reduced (reduced clearness of vision): 4 people, 26.67%
  4. Vision Blurred: 4 people, 26.67%
  5. Optic Atrophy (the loss of a proportion of optic disc nerve fibres): 3 people, 20.00%
  6. Gliosis (a process leading to scars in the central nervous system): 3 people, 20.00%
  7. Headache (pain in head): 3 people, 20.00%
  8. High Blood Cholesterol: 3 people, 20.00%
  9. Infection: 3 people, 20.00%
  10. Influenza Like Illness: 3 people, 20.00%

What are the existing conditions these people have? *

  1. Hepatitis C: 10 people, 66.67%
  2. Hepatitis (inflammation of the liver): 1 person, 6.67%

* Approximation only. Some reports may have incomplete information.

Do you take Peg-intron and have Optic neuropathy?

- Check whether Optic neuropathy is associated with a drug or a condition
- Predict drug outcomes for up to one year with AI
- Get an AI agent to monitor your drugs continuously

Related studies:

Effectiveness of, long term effects of, and alternative drugs to Peg-intron:

Optic neuropathy treatments and more:

How severe was Optic neuropathy and when was it recovered:

Expand to all the drugs that have ingredients of peginterferon alfa-2b:

Sub-studies by gender and age:

Female: 0-1 2-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Male: 0-1 2-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Browse all side effects of Peg-intron:

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Browse all the drugs that are associated with Optic neuropathy:

Browse all the conditions that are associated with Optic neuropathy:

How the study uses the data?

The study uses data from the FDA. It is based on peginterferon alfa-2b (the active ingredients of Peg-intron) and Peg-intron (the brand name). Other drugs that have the same active ingredients (e.g. generic drugs) are not considered. Dosage of drugs is not considered in the study.

How to use the study?

DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting your doctor. If there are any serious or long term adverse effects discovered in the study, discuss the study with your doctor to ensure that proper medication management will be in place if applicable.

Who is eHealthMe?

With medical big data and proven AI/ML algorithms, eHealthMe provides a platform for everyone to run phase IV clinical trials. We study millions of patients and 5,000 more each day. Results of our real-world drug study have been referenced on 800+ peer-reviewed medical publications, including The Lancet, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and Nature. Our analysis results are available to researchers, health care professionals, patients (testimonials), and software developers (open API).

WARNING, DISCLAIMER, USE FOR PUBLICATION

WARNING: Please DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting a physician since doing so could be hazardous to your health.

DISCLAIMER: All material available on eHealthMe.com is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. All information is observation-only. Our phase IV clinical studies alone cannot establish cause-effect relationship. Different individuals may respond to medication in different ways. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. The use of the eHealthMe site and its content is at your own risk.

If you use this eHealthMe study on publication, please acknowledge it with a citation: study title, URL, accessed date.

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