Epidemiology, pathophysiology, and world blindness.

This year the role of diabetes and therefore of sugars in cataract has remained a dominant theme in the literature, but there has been a renewed interest in lens enzymes. Epidemiological studies have confirmed that cataract is the overwhelming cause of blindness in the third world, and identified association with another age-related disease. The possible protective effect of estrogens was surprising. The role of poor nutrition in cataract development, and conversely the possibility of decreasing the burden of cataract by improving nutrition or providing vitamin supplements has attracted much attention although we must await clinical trials for definitive answers.