Spiro-tricyclicaromatic succinimide derivatives as inhibitors of aldose reductase

A compound of the formula:

• ##STR182## and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein A and B are aromatic rings connected through two adjacent positions to a central five-membered ring, and are independently selected from the group consisting of:
• ##STR183## U is selected from the group consisting of O, S, and NR.sup.1 ;
• X is selected from the group consisting of H, F, lower alkyl sulfide, and lower alkylsulfinyl;
• Y is selected from H, --OH, --OCOR.sup.3, F, Cl, lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, lower alkylsulfide, lower alkylsulfinyl, lower alkylsulfonyl, --CF.sub.3, --S--CF.sub.3, --SO.sub.2 CF.sub.3, CO--N(R.sup.1)--R.sup.2, lower alkyl alcohol, lower alkyl ether, nitro, lower alkyl sulfide lower alkyl, lower alkylamine, lower alkyl esters, --COOH and lower alkyl ester, lower alkyl carboxylic acids and lower alkyl esters, and cycloalkyl of six or less carbons, provided that when both of Rings A and B are phenyl, and one of X or Y is H or F, the other of X or Y must be other than H or F;
• and
• R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and lower alkyl;
• R.sup.3 is lower alkyl;
• Z is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, lower alkyl, and halogen;
• t is selected from the group consisting of CHR.sup.1, NH, O, and S.