Effect of galactose diet removal on the progression of retinal vessel changes in galactose-fed dogs.

Purpose: Feeding dogs a diet containing 30% galactose induces experimental galactosemia and results in the formation of diabetes-like microvascular lesions of the retina. The appearance and progression of these retinal lesions can be arrested in a dose-dependent manner by treating these dogs with aldose reductase inhibitors from the onset of galactosemia. To determine whether the elimination of galactosemia can also reduce the progression of retinal lesions, the galactose diet was removed from the galactosemic dogs after either the appearance of pericyte ghosts or formation of microaneurysms.