Histopathological Studies in Long-term Tolbutamide-administered Alloxan Diabetes Rabbits

Effect of long term administration of tolbutamide was histopathologically studied in 36 male alloxan diabetes rabbits. After the continuous tolbutamide administration for 3-6 months, the heart and kidney were light-and electron microscopically examined. Severe focal degenerative lesions, consisting of damages in small blood vessel and cardiac muscle, were found in the heart from the alloxan rabbits, and not a few exudative lesions and sclerotic changes of nodular or diffuse forms were seen in their renal glomeruli. From the tolbutamide-ad ministrated alloxan rabbits, qualitatively similar findings to the above were obtained, but there were many severe cases in this group. Especially, the incidence of severe cardiac lesions significantly increased in the rabbits which received tolbutamide for 6 months.It was suggested that tolbutamide might indirectly act on the diabetic process in the alloxan rabbits.