Cataracts

Overview

A cataract is a cloudy area on the front of the lens of the eye that causes cloudy vision and a sensitivity to glare. This clouding is caused by the abnormal clumping of proteins in the center of the lens. The major causes are aging and exposure to UV radiation but other less common factors include injury, diabetes or radiation treatments. In the case of infantile cataracts, they are usually caused by an infection during pregnancy.

Prevalence

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world, accounting for 45% of all cases of legal blindness. In the United States, over half of people over 65 are affected in some way.

Prevention/Treatment

There is no known way to prevent cataracts in normal adults, but people with diabetes can prevent them by carefully controlling their blood sugar. Mothers can prevent infantile cataracts by being careful to get rubella vaccinations before pregnancy. Once a cataract has developed, cataracts can be cured by surgery that extracts the clouded lens and replaces it with a plastic artificial lens.