Cataracts are the opacification of the lens, which appears as gray or yellowish-brown spots in the eyes.
They are the leading cause of blindness in the world. Approximately 20% of people between the ages of 65-74 years and 50% of those over 75 years of age are affected.
They appear fundamentally with aging. There are other promoting factors such as: injuries, smoking, alcohol consumption, exposure to X-rays, diabetes, malnutrition, exposure to corticosteroids, etc. There are also some cases of congenital cataracts.
They appear as a progressive and painless loss of vision. The initial symptoms can be loss of contrast, glare (halos and flashes around the lights, without photophobia), need for more light to see well and problems distinguishing colors (e.g. dark blue and black).
The diagnosis is reached by ophthalmoscopy and slit-lamp examination.
The treatment consists of surgical extraction and implanting an intraocular lens.
- Kanthan GL, Wang JJ, Rochtchina E, et al. Ten-year incidence of age-related cataract and cataract surgery in an older Australian population. The Blue Mountains Eye Study. Ophthalmology 2008; 115:808.
- Asbell PA, Dualan I, Mindel J, et al. Age-related cataract. Lancet 2005; 365:599.
- Congdon N, O'Colmain B, Klaver CC, et al. Causes and prevalence of visual impairment among adults in the United States. Arch Ophthalmol 2004; 122:477.
- West SK, Valmadrid CT. Epidemiology of risk factors for age-related cataract. Surv Ophthalmol 1995; 39:323.
- Thylefors B, Négrel AD, Pararajasegaram R, Dadzie KY. Global data on blindness. Bull World Health Organ 1995; 73:115.
- Kuszak JR, Deutsch TA, Brown HG. Anatomy of aged and senile cataractous lens. In: Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology, Albert DM, Jakobiec FA (Eds), WB Saunders Company, Philadelphia 1994. p.564.
