Progression of sugar cataract in the dog

Young beagle dogs were fed a 30% galactose diet, with or without the aldose reductase inhibitors sorbinil or M79175. Cataract formation was monitored by indirect ophthalmoscope and hand-held slit-lamp microscopy and documented by retroillumination photography. In these dogs, the first sign of cataract development was an accentuation of the anterior and posterior lens sutures (1 month after feeding), then the appearance of cortical vacuoles (3 months after feeding), and finally, the formation of predominantly equatorial cortical opacities toward the posterior cortices (4-6 months after feeding). After long-term galactose feeding, a progressive, irregular, clear zone formed at the cortical equatorial regions. Light microscopic examination of these lenses shows that the cataracts are osmotic, many of the lens fibers appear to be swollen or ruptured, and vacuoles are seen near the bow region. Moreover, these histologic changes were reduced in a dose-dependent manner in galactose-fed dogs concomitantly treated with the aldose reductase inhibitors sorbinil or M79175. The osmotic nature of these cataracts and the observation that their formation can be reduced in a dose-dependent manner by aldose reductase inhibitors are consistent with the concept that the aldose-reductase catalyzed formation of polar sugar alcohols (polyols) initiates sugar cataract formation in the dog.