Atopic cataract: changes in the lens epithelium and subcapsular cortex.

Two lenses with atopic cataract, one from a 33-year-old man and one from a 50-year-old man, were examined by light and electron microscopy. The younger man had an anterior polar cataract and the older a subcapsular opacification of the entire subcapsular cortex. In the younger lens the epithelial cells in front of the anterior opacity were extremely large and contained an increased number of mitochondria. In the older lens epithelial cells were missing centrally. These morphological changes probably reflect a malfunction of the lens epithelium.