Practice Essentials. Senile cataract is an age-related, vision-impairing disease characterized by gradual progressive clouding and thickening of the lens of the eye. It is the world's leading cause of treatable blindness.
Nuclear Sclerotic Cataracts
This the more common type of age-related cataract. Its primary cause is the hardening and yellowing of the lens over time. It is referred to as “Nuclear” due to the centrally located clouding on the lens called the nucleus. The hardening of the lens is called “Sclerosis.”
Most cataracts happen because of normal changes in your eyes as you get older. When you're young, the lens in your eye is clear. Around age 40, the proteins in the lens of your eye start to break down and clump together. This clump makes a cloudy area on your lens — known as a cataract.
... Cataracts are the leading cause of reversable blindness worldwide [120], with a global age-standardized pooled prevalence estimate (ASPPE) of 17.20% (95% CI 13.39-21.01) [121] , indicating that for 1000 people randomly sampled anywhere, 133-210 are estimated to have cataracts.
The types of age-related cataracts are usually described by their location in the lens. They are: nuclear cataracts, cortical cataracts and subcapsular cataracts. Nuclear cataracts occur in the center of the lens and may induce other eye problems, such as myopia.
This article will discuss the three most common types of cataracts (nuclear, cortical, and posterior subcapsular) as well as other less common types including anterior subcapsular, posterior polar, traumatic, congenital and polychromatic.
In fact, according to My Cataracts, cataracts currently affect more than 20.5 million Americans over 40 years of age. By age 65, more than 90 percent of people in the United States will develop cataracts.
Not everybody will get cataracts, so they're not inevitable – but they are very common. Some studies suggest that around half of people over the age of 75 will have cataracts or have had surgery to remove cataracts, and that by the age of 65 around 30% of people have cataracts. Most cataracts are age related.
Cataracts are common in older adults, affecting almost 50% of the population aged 80 and over. Although cataracts are one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, accounting for more than 40% of cases, they are also one of the most treatable serious eye conditions.
A posterior subcapsular cataract often interferes with your reading vision, reduces your vision in bright light, and causes glare or halos around lights at night. These types of cataracts tend to progress faster than other types do.
While elderly people are more likely to develop cataracts, all older people do not always get cataracts.
During cataract surgery, there is an alteration in the normal fluidic balance due to the additional outflow path. This means a higher risk of chamber instability, surge and complications such as posterior capsule rupture. The incidence of neurologic conditions such as Alzheimer's disease is higher with advanced age.
Posterior subscapsular cataracts are more difficult to remove due to adhesion of the cataract to the lens capsule and increase risk of capsule rupture during removal.
In our study, the severity of cortical cataracts was greater than posterior subcapsular and nuclear opacities. Late cortical cataracts are associated with denser opacities in the center of the lens affecting the visual axis, therefore contrast sensitivity is more severely reduced with this type of cataracts.
Late posterior subcapsular cataract caused the greatest reduction in visual acuity.
Cataracts may become more difficult to be removed once they become mature. This is why many doctors advise patients to have surgery earlier on, as soon as vision is affected on a regular basis.
Treating age-related cataracts
If your cataracts are not too bad, stronger glasses and brighter reading lights may help for a while. But cataracts get worse over time, so you'll eventually need surgery to remove and replace the affected lens. Surgery is the only treatment that's proven to be effective for cataracts.
Cataract surgery is safe for all ages. There is no age limit on when you can get the surgery.
Is there an age limit for cataract surgery? There's a reason many people think of cataract surgery as eye surgery for old people. There is no age limit for cataract surgery, and it has successfully improved the vision of seniors as old as 95.
By age 75 at least 50% will have cataracts. By age 80, this rises to 70 percent.
Trauma-related cataracts are typically the most fast-growing type of cataracts. Radiation: Radiation-related cataracts, sometimes listed under trauma-related cataracts, occur after the lens has been exposed to radiation. Exposure to high levels of radiation can result in clouded vision in as little as two years.
If a cataract makes it difficult for you to carry out your normal activities, your doctor may suggest cataract surgery. When a cataract interferes with the treatment of another eye problem, cataract surgery may be recommended.
Even though surgery is the only treatment for removing cataracts, this doesn't mean everyone with cataracts requires surgery. Some people with mild cataracts can correct their vision with prescription glasses and contact lenses.