According to a study, Revision Therapeutics’ trial macular degeneration treatment drug will decrease the risk of macular degeneration in older people.

Researchers have found that those patients who underwent fenretinide medication treatment were 37% less susceptible to develop acute macular degeneration as compared to patients who received a placebo.

Researchers say that one of the main causes of blindness in elderly people is macular degeneration.

The researchers reported the findings of the study at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting that was held today in Chicago.

Jason Slakter, who presented the report at the conference, said that it is quite interesting that the findings would help in designing a treatment for the disease. However, he is skeptical that this experiment will be effective in a large group.

As per the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, currently there is no treatment available for the dry form of macular degeneration.

The CDC further said that by the year 2020 as many as 2.95 million people in the United States will get affected by this disease.

Fenretinide is a synthetic derivative of vitamin A and its use has been studied for treating rheumatoid arthritis and other cancers.

It is believed that the medicine decreases inflammation, slows down the growth of blood vessels, and drops the vitamin A levels in the retina, thereby slowing the development of macular degeneration.