Protection against sucrose-induced retinal capillary damage in the Wistar rat.

The procedure of rearing rats on high sucrose diets has been used in some laboratories as a drug-free model to induce retinal vascular-bed damage resembling diabetic retinopathy. Examination of dietary salt mixes used in laboratories reporting success with this model revealed that two essential elements, chromium and selenium, were not included. The present study evaluated the effect of supplementing a high sucrose diet, reported to induce retinopathy, with chromium and Selenium supplementation significantly reduced the number of acellular collapsed capillary strands within arterial-venous capillary networks. The addition of chromium to the high sucrose diet resulted in lower fasting blood glucose and a smaller rise in its level following an oral dose. Little or no retinal vascular damage was apparent in rats fed the high sucrose diet supplemented with chromium, selenium and additional corn oil. Of the two elements, only supplementation with Se protected the retinal capillaries from damage.