The role of retinol in, and the action of anti-inflammatory drugs on, hereditary retinal degeneration.

Light deprivation retarded retinal degeneration in albino dystrophic rats. In pigmented dystrophic rats the presence of pigment in the eye retarded the degenerative process. Retinol labilized rat retinal lysosomes in vitro. Acetylsalicylic acid stabilized retinal lysosomes even in the presence of the concentration of retinol which produced the maximum labilization. The effect of acetylsalicyclic acid was concentration dependent, maximum stabilization being produced by 0.25-0.50 mM. The results provide further evidence for the hypothesis that hereditary retinal degeneration in rats is mediated by an increased amount of retinol (produced by the action of light on an unusually labile type of visual pigment) causing a premature release of lysosomal enzymes.