Cataract| lessons sbout it | 50% to @campusconnectng

Cataract is a pathology of the organ of vision, characterized by partial or total clouding of the lens, which is located between the vitreous body and the iris of the eye. The lens acts as an anatomical lens, its main task is the refraction of rays with their subsequent projection onto the retina. If the lens becomes cloudy, the natural process of refraction of rays is disturbed, due to which visual acuity decreases or the person goes completely blind.

eye cataract diagram

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Causes of cataract development

In medical practice, there is a certain gradation of the occurrence of cataracts, the following groups of people lead the risk zone:

1. 90% - elderly people (age-related pathology);
2. 4% - development of cataracts after injury to the eye or head (traumatic);
3. 3% - people who have been exposed to radiation (radiation type of pathology);
4. 3% - newborns with unfavorable heredity or intrauterine developmental disorders (congenital).

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Based on the classification and according to statistics, cataracts are usually considered a disease of the elderly. However, there are a number of factors contributing to the development of the disease:

1. disorders of the endocrine system (diabetes mellitus, metabolic disorders);
2. certain forms of beriberi; certain pathologies of the organ of vision;
3. taking certain medications for a long time.

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Clouding of the lens in the elderly

According to statistics provided by WHO, about 70% of all cases of age-related cataracts occur over the age of 70 years. This means that the older a person becomes, the higher the likelihood of clouding of the lens.

Despite these data, cataract is not only a disease of the elderly category of people. The disease develops not because of the fact of aging, but because of the changes that occur in the body with age. Some of these changes may well occur in 40-50 years, it all depends on the individual characteristics of the body of each person, as well as genetic factors.

In old age, the main cause of the development of pathology is considered to be changes that occur in the lens at the biochemical level. This process is regarded by physicians as natural, that is, every person is subject to the development of cataracts to a certain extent.