title: Lens capsule and epithelium in age-related cataract.
abstract: On the basis of preoperative assessment of patient characteristics, intraoperative obtainment of a lens-capsule and epithelium specimen, histopathologic investigation of lens capsule and epithelium, and biochemical analysis of glutathione reductase in lens epithelium, age-related cataract was studied in 50 adult patients who underwent consecutive extracapsular cataract-posterior chamber lens implant surgery. Patients (25 men and 25 women; age range, 41 to 91 years; mean age, 75 years) had a wide range of systemic and ocular disease; 17 of 50 (34%) patients had a history of severe vision-impairing cataract in a first-degree relative. Anterior lens-capsule thickness ranged from 10 to 22 microns, with a mean of 17 microns. Statistical analysis of lens-epithelium ultrastructure in 41 of 50 specimens documented mixing of normal and abnormal cells, verified a gradation in the degree of abnormal ultrastructural features, and demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in epithelial cytologic activity with advancing age (P = .038). Biochemical analysis documented a severe glutathione reductase deficiency in nine of 39 (23%) lens-epithelium specimens, possibly reflecting a dietary deficiency of riboflavin.
authors.affiliation: Jules Stein Eye Institute, University of California, Los Angeles 90024-7000.
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Straatsma
authors.forename: D O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Lightfoot
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Barke
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Horwitz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D002386:Cataract / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D002387:Cataract Extraction; D004848:Epithelium / Q000201:enzymology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D005980:Glutathione Reductase / Q000172:deficiency; D006801:Humans; D007430:Intraoperative Care; D007903:Lens Capsule, Crystalline / Q000201:enzymology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D007910:Lenses, Intraocular; D008297:Male; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008875:Middle Aged; D011300:Preoperative Care; D014792:Visual Acuity
chemical_list: D005980:Glutathione Reductase