Method for treating patients with macular degeneration by administering substituted sulfonyl indenyl acetic acids and alcohols

A method for treating a patient with macular degeneration sensitive to compounds below, comprising administering to the patient a physiologically effective amount of a compound of the formula:

• 2
• wherein
• R1 is independently selected in each instance from the group consisting of hydrogen, halogen, lower alkoxy, hydroxy, lower alkyl, lower alkyl mercapto, lower alkylsulfonyl, lower alkylamino, di-lower alkyl amino, amino, nitro, nitrile, lower alkyl carboxylate, —CO2H, and sulfonamido;
• R2 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and lower alkyl;
• R3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, lower alkyl, hydroxy, and amino;
• R4 is selected from the group consisting of —COM and CH2OH wherein M is selected from the group consisting of hydroxy, substituted lower alkoxy, amino, alkylamino, dialkylamino, N-morpholino, hydroxyalkylamino, polyhydroxyamino, dialkylaminoalkylamino, aminoalklyamino, and the group OMe, wherein Me is a cation;
• R5 is an alkyl sulfonyl;
• and n is an integer from 0 to four.