50p pill could prevent diabetic retinopathy

A pill costing just 50 pence a day could prevent diabetic retinopathy, a potentially sight threatening complication of diabetes.

Scientists in in Australia have just completed a study involving 10,000 patients aged between 50 and 75. Patients taking the drug, fenofibrate, were found to reduce their risk of needing laser treatment (a normal treatment diabetic eye disease) by a third. Fenofibrate is a lipid-modifying agent that helps to reduce complications in diabetic retinopathy. Professor Ian Young from Queen's University, Belfast who lead the study has urged the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to recommend using the drug in the NHS.