Cataracts Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Cataracts, including details on surgical procedures, outcomes, causes, treatment.

A randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled clinical trial of multivitamin supplementation for age-related lens opacities. Clinical trial of nutritional supplements and age-related cataract report no. 3.

, Maraini G, Sperduto RD, Ferris F, Clemons TE, Rosmini F, Ferrigno L

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a multivitamin/mineral supplement on development or progression of age-related lens opacities. DESIGN: Randomized, double-masked, single center, placebo-controlled clinical trial. PARTICIPANTS: One thousand twenty participants, 55 to 75 years old and with early or no cataract, were randomly assigned to a daily tablet of a multivitamin/mineral formulation or a placebo. METHODS: Baseline and annual lens photographs were graded for severity of lens opacities according to a modification of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study system for classifying cataracts. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was a prespecified increase from baseline in nuclear, cortical, or posterior subcapsular cataract (PSC) opacity grades or cataract surgery. Secondary outcomes included an increase in type-specific opacity grades, cataract surgery, and visual acuity (VA) loss from baseline > or =15 letters. RESULTS: Participants were observed for an average of 9.0+/-2.4 years. There was a decrease in total lens events in participants assigned to the multivitamin/mineral formulation compared with those assigned to the placebo (hazard ratio [HR], 0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.68-0.98; P = 0.03). Nuclear events were significantly less common (HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.50-0.88; P = 0.004) and PSC events significantly more common (HR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.35-2.98; P<0.001) in participants taking the multivitamin/mineral formulation than in those assigned to the placebo. No statistically significant treatment effects were seen for cortical opacities, moderate VA loss, or cataract surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Lens events were less common in participants who took the multivitamin/mineral formulation, but treatment had opposite effects on the development or progression of nuclear and PSC opacities, the 2 most visually important opacity subtypes.

Published 4 April 2008 in Ophthalmology, 115(4): 599-607.e1.
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Articles on Cataracts published 25 March 2008:

Optical coherence tomography evaluation of posterior capsule opacification related to intraocular lens design.   J Cataract Refract Surg, 34(4): 643-50.

PURPOSE: To evaluate posterior capsule opacification (PCO) and the impact of different intraocular lens (IOL) models on PCO characteristics using optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS: Eighty-three eyes with PCO (fibrosis or pearl type) and 32 pseudophakic eyes without PCO were included. Horizontal 3.0 mm long OCT scans of the posterior capsule were obtained. Measurements and means of the peak posterior capsule intensity (PCI) and posterior capsule thickness (PCT) (distance between 2 ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Cataracts published 14 March 2008:

Bin3 deletion causes cataracts and increased susceptibility to lymphoma during aging.   Cancer Res, 68(6): 1683-90.

Bin3 encodes an evolutionarily conserved and ubiquitously expressed member of the BAR superfamily of curved membrane and GTPase-binding proteins, which includes the BAR, PCH/F-BAR, and I-BAR adapter proteins implicated in signal transduction and vesicular trafficking. In humans, Bin3 maps to chromosome 8p21.3, a region widely implicated in cancer suppression that is often deleted in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and various epithelial tumors. Yeast studies have suggested roles for this gene in ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Cataracts published 10 March 2008:

Susceptibility of ovine lens crystallins to proteolytic cleavage during formation of hereditary cataract.   Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 49(3): 1016-22.

PURPOSE: To produce two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) maps for ovine crystallins and examine changes in ovine crystallins during cataract formation. METHODS: Soluble and insoluble fractions were isolated from normal, whole lenses of 26-week-old sheep, the proteins separated by 2-DE, and the spots digested with trypsin and subjected to tandem mass spectral analysis. Spot identifications were made by using mass spectrometry data from each spot digestion and data from 2-DE maps of proteins ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Cataracts published 5 March 2008:

Mutation of solute carrier SLC16A12 associates with a syndrome combining juvenile cataract with microcornea and renal glucosuria.   Am J Hum Genet, 82(3): 772-9.

Unobstructed vision requires a particular refractive index of the lens, a measure based on the organization of the structural proteins within the differentiated lens cells. To ensure an intact lens structure, homeostasis within the lens cells is indispensable. Alterations of the lens structure result in opacity and lead to cataract. Renal glucosuria is defined by elevated glucose level in the urine without hyperglycemia and without evidence of morphological renal anomalies. In a Swiss family ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Incidence of age-related cataract over a 15-year interval the Beaver Dam Eye Study.   Ophthalmology, 115(3): 477-82.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the long-term incidence of nuclear cataract, cortical cataract, and posterior subcapsular cataract (PSC) and to evaluate age and cohort effects on these rates. DESIGN: Population-based study. PARTICIPANTS: Members of the Beaver Dam Eye Study cohort. METHODS: Subjects were seen in study offices for examinations (slit lamp, checking for occludable angles, dilation of pupils, lens photographs, measurement of blood pressures, and study interview). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Lens ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Randomized comparison of 1-Site and 2-Site phacotrabeculectomy with 3-year follow-up.   Ophthalmology, 115(3): 447-454.e1.

PURPOSE: To compare intraocular pressure (IOP) control and other clinical outcomes after 1-site fornix-based and 2-site limbus-based phacotrabeculectomy. DESIGN: Prospective randomized controlled trial. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 90 eyes of 76 patients with cataract and glaucoma were treated. METHODS: Forty-four eyes were assigned randomly to receive a 1-site phacotrabeculectomy with a fornix-based conjunctival flap, and 46 eyes were assigned randomly to receive a 2-site phacotrabeculectomy with ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Cataracts published 3 March 2008:

A novel connexin50 mutation associated with congenital nuclear pulverulent cataracts.   J Med Genet, 45(3): 155-60.

PURPOSE: To screen for mutations of connexin50 (Cx50)/GJA8 in a panel of patients with inherited cataract and to determine the cellular and functional consequences of the identified mutation. METHODS: All patients in the study underwent a full clinical examination and leucocyte DNA was extracted from venous blood. The GJA8 gene was sequenced directly. Connexin function and cellular trafficking were examined by expression in Xenopus oocytes and HeLa cells. RESULTS: Screening of the GJA8 gene ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Cataracts published 27 February 2008:

Visual outcomes and associated risk factors of cataract surgeries in highly myopic Taiwanese.   Ophthalmologica, 222(2): 130-5.

AIMS: The purposes of this study were to describe the visual outcome of highly myopic eyes undergoing cataract surgery, to investigate associated risk factors for poor postoperative vision, and to assess postoperative complication frequency among the prevalent myopic Taiwanese population. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, noncomparative case series study at the Department of Ophthalmology, Zhongxing Branch, Taipei City Hospital, Taiwan. High myopia was defined as axial length of 26.0 mm. ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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