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T S Hu

Publications and source records attributed to T S Hu.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Prevention and reversal of galactose cataract in rats with topical Sorbinil.

Rats fed a 50% galactose diet were treated topically in one eye with 1% Sorbinil . The eye treated with Sorbinil remained clear during the following 4-week period. Unexpectedly, the lens of the untreated eye also maintained transparency. Histologically both lenses remained normal. Moreover, the reduced dulcitol levels in the lenses of both eyes were identical. These findings suggest that the effect of topically administered Sorbinil in galactosemic rats was mainly systemic rather than local. Confirmation of this came from the observations that the extent of inhibition of polyol synthesis in these rats was found to be similar in the sciatic nerve, blood, and lens. A reversal of the galactose cataracts also was affected by Sorbinil eye drop treatment.

Animals↗

Corneal re-epithelialization in galactosemic rats.

Abnormalities in corneal epithelial healing in diabetic patients have been described recently. Defects in corneal re-epithelialization in diabetic rats have been reported, and it was found that treatment with aldose reductase (AR) inhibitors effectively prevented these defects. Experiments using galactosemic rats to study further the role of AR in these defects, since AR is known to be the common factor involved in sugar cataractogeneses, are reported herein. Similar defects in corneal re-epithelialization in galactosemic rats as in diabetic rats were found. The delay in re-epithelialization was documented by computer planimetry. Light microscopy showed marked corneal stroma edema and wider intercellular spaces in the epithelium after complete re-epithelialization, while scanning electron microscopy revealed fewer filopodia projecting from the leading margin during the active migration stage. These defects were prevented by treating galactosemic rats with the aldose reductase inhibitor, Pfizer's Sorbinil. These suggest that AR plays a role in the defects in corneal re-epithelialization observed in diabetes.

Animals↗

Reversal of galactose cataract with Sorbinil in rats.

Sorbinil, a potent aldose reductase inhibitor, can effectively block the progression of a galactose cataract even though the cataractous process is well underway. The prevention of dulcitol accumulation by Sorbinil is just as effective in reversing the cataract as the removal of galactose from the diet. The progression and reversal of the cataract were followed by ophthalmoscopy and histology. The results also further support the concept that in galactosemia the cataract is not caused by the toxic effects of galactose per se but by the consequence of the aldose reductase reaction.

Animals↗