Ciliary body changes associate with aldose reductase in galactosemic rats (2)

Morphological changes of the ciliary body epithelium in rats fed a 50% galactose diet for 18 months with or without aldose reductase inhibitor (ARI: FR74366, Fujisawa) were investigated on coronal sections by both the light microscopic observation and the measurement of the area of non-pigmented epithelium (non-PE) as the ratio of non-PE/PE. The measurement was performed with color image analyzer. Structural change (hypertrophy) was observed only in non-pigmented epithelial cells of galactosemic rats. In contrast, no hypertrophic changes were seen in galactosemic rats treated with FR74366. These results strongly suggest that aldose reductase is associated with hypertrophic change of non-pigmented epithelial cells of the ciliary body as one of the diabetic complications.