[Influence of light through the eyes on metabolism and hormones].

The eye plays a double role: on the one side it is the optic camera, on the other side independent of the optic path ways it is the light receptor which stimulates the retino-hypothalamique pathway of the endocrine-visceral system. To determine this influence, we compared the metabolisme (water balance, blood sugar and blood cell count) as well as the hormones (ACTH, Cortisol) of fifty patients with bilateral almost total cataract, before (practically blind) and after cataract surgery (regain of light). There was a significant difference between the metabolic and hormonal values before and after cataract extraction, reaching physiologically normal levels due to the stimulating influence of light after the operation.