Corneal lipidosis in rats treated with amphiphilic cationic drugs.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether generalized lipidosis experimentally induced by cationic amphiphilic drugs in rats is regularly associated with lipidotic alterations in the cornea. After chronic oral treatment with chlorphentermine, iprindole, or tamoxifen all animals showed clear lipidosis-like alterations in corneal cells. After chronic oral treatment with chloroquine and quinacrine the results were variable and unpredictable; however, consistent lipidosis-like alterations were found when chloroquine was applied locally onto the cornea. The present results show that basically the cornea of rats is involved in drug-induced lipidosis. For toxicological studies it must be kept in mind, however, that the reactions of rat cornea may be unreliable and less marked than in the cornea of human beings.