Cataracts

DEFINITION

• A clouding or opacity of the natural crystalline lens of the eye
• When glucose increases in the lens (as in hyperglycemic states), the sorbitol pathway is activated more than glycolysis; sorbitol accumulates and is retained in the lens.
• Along with sorbitol, fructose also builds up in a lens surrounded by a high-glucose environment.
• These two sugars increase the osmotic pressure within the lens, drawing in water.
• The result is swelling of the lens fibers, disruption of the normal cytoskeletal architecture, and ultimately, lens opacification[6].