Experimental chlorphentermine lipidosis of the retina in albino rats

Chronic administration of chlorphentermine leads to an accumulation of lysosomal inclusions in the retina of young rats. The cells of the pigment epithelium, the perikeratic part of the ganglial cells and their axones are filled with inclusions, whereas other parts of the retina remain free. As soon as the treatment is discontinued, the alterations recede completely. The experiment can be considered to be a model for the lysosomal capacity of those parts of the retina concerned; in addition, it supplies information on the metabolism of phospholipids in these structures.