cataracts

1. CATARACTS

2. CATARACTS
Cataracts are the most common cause of vision loss in
people age 40 and is the principal cause of blindness in
the world. In fact,there are more cases of cataracts
worldwide than there are of glaucoma, muscular
degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.

3. TYPES OF CATARACTS
 SUBCAPSULAR CATARACT -occurs at the back of the lens
.People with diabetes or those taking high doses of steroid medication
have a greater risk of developing a subcapsular cataract.

4. NUCLEAR CATARACT-forms deep in the central zone
(nucleus)of the lens. Nuclear cataracts usually are
associated with aging.

5. CORTICAL CATARACT-is characterized by white, wedge-like
opacities that start in the periphery of the lens and work their way to
the center in a spoke-like fashion. This type of cataract occurs in the
lens cortext,which is the part of the lens that surrounds the central
nucleus.

6. CAUSES
Aging
Trauma
Radiation
Eye surgery

7. RISK FACTOR
 Diabetes
 Smoking tobacco
 Prolonged exposure to sunlight
 Alcohol
 Increasing age
 Previous eye surgery

8. SIGN & SYMPTOMS
 Clouded, blurred or dim vision
 Increasing difficulty with vision at night
 Sensitivity to light and glare
 Need for brighter light for reading and other activities
 Seeing “halos” around lights
 Frequent changes in eyeglass or contact lens prescription
 Fading or yellowing of colors
 Double vision in a single eye

9. MEDICATIONS
 Some medication, such as systemic, topical, inhaled
corticosteroids, may increase the risk of cataract development.
Corticosteroids most commonly cause posterior subcapsular cataracts.
People with schizophrenia often have risk factors for lens
opacities(such as diabetes , hypertension ,and poor nutrition) but
antipsychotic medications are unlikely to contribute to cataract
formation. Miotics and triparanol may increase the risk.

10. SURGERY
Is the removal of the natural lens of the
eye(also called “crystalline lens”)that has
developed an opacification , which is referred to
as a cataract. Metabolic changes of crystalline
lens fibers over time lead to the development of
the cataract and loss of transparency, causing
impairment or loss of vission.

11. CATARACT SURGERY
 Human with a slit lamp

12. TYPES OF SURGERY

13. Cataract surgery, using a
temporal approach
phacoemulsification probe
(in right hand) and “chopper”
(in left hand )being done
under operating microscope.