Fenretinide May Benefit Patients With Dry AMD.

The UK’s Daily Mail (10/18, Macrae) reports that fenretinide, “a drug based on vitamin A, could prevent millions from going blind” due to dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to research presented at an ophthalmology conference. In a study of nearly 250 patients with dry AMD who were randomized to fenretinide or to placebo, researchers found that “in the highest dose, the drug halted visual deterioration after a year. This suggests that while it was unable to do anything to stop cells that were already damaged from dying, it protected healthy cells.”
Bloomberg News (10/17, Olmos) reported, “The drug is believed to slow the progression of macular degeneration by reducing inflammation, inhibiting abnormal growth of blood vessels, and reducing levels of vitamin A in the retina, which can cause the formation of lesions that impair vision in people with the disease.”