PHYSIOLOGY, BIOCHEMISTRY, PATHOGENESIS, AND EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CATARACT

Cataract research has progressed in the past year. Three new books have provided a useful background for further investigations. Studies of sugar cataract in animals continue apace, their relevance supported by human studies. Ultraviolet-induced damage has been studied in the laboratory but no evidence has been provided for the role of ultraviolet in human cataract. Changes in human lenses have been identified but simple features like nuclear hardness have gone unexplained. Studies of human populations have shown cataract to be a financial burden in the West and a major cause of blindness in the Third World. Other epidemiologic studies confirm that it is a multifactorial disease. The anticataract therapy field has moved forward on several fronts with demonstrations of beneficial effects in animals and humans. The front runners appear to be aspirinlike analgesics and vitamins, but the beneficial tea consumption reported from Canada could be a civilized alternative.