[Geriatric eye diseases].

Ageing of the eye affects all ocular structures. Presbyopia is an early manifestation of physiological ageing resulting in the impossibility to read without additional spectacle correction. Some systemic disorders may interfere with the physiological ageing of the eye and cause blindness. In the western countries blindness is caused by age-related macular degeneration (26%), glaucoma (20.5%), cataract (11.2%), diabetic retinopathy (8.9%) and ischemic optic neuropathy (4 %).