13th December 2023

Lens

Cataracts cause a painless, slow deterioration of vision. There may be difficulty with focusing and glare experienced with bright lights. Some patients experience a ‘second sight’ – whereby the increased refractive power of an enlarging cataract produces an improvement with near-tasks such as reading. Inevitably, over time, vision progressively declines as the cataract becomes cloudy. Patients are more likely to present to their local optician than an acute practitioner. Certain conditions predispose to accelerated and/or early onset cataract formation:

• Diabetes mellitus
• Corticosteroid use
• Myotonic dystrophy

Cataract extraction is the management of choice.

References 

• Ahram DF, Alward WL, Kuehn MH. The genetic mechanisms of primary angle closure glaucoma. Eye (Lond). 2015 Oct;29(10):1251-9.
• Collignon NJ. Emergencies in glaucoma: a review. Bull Soc Belge Ophtalmol. 2005;(296):71-81.
• Shahid H, Salmon JF. Malignant glaucoma: a review of the modern literature. J Ophthalmol. 2012;2012:852659.