Mechanisms of senile cataract formation.

Research on the mechanisms of lens opacification during the past 20 years has revealed a number of individual, identifiable cataractogenic stresses in man. They include osmotic cataract formation (diabetic, galactosemic and hypoglycemic cataracts), radiation cataracts (X-irradiation, near U.V. radiation and microwave radiation) and in senile cataract the conversion of soluble low molecular weight cytoplasmic proteins to soluble high molecular weight aggregates, insoluble phases, and insoluble membrane-protein matrices. Oxidative stress has emerged as a common denominator of many changes in senile cataract. As we increase our understanding of these mechanisms, we may be able to intervene therapeutically to delay or prevent human cataract formation in man.