July 24th, 2010 
admin Long recognized as a source of vision loss, Cataracts and forms of surgery to attempt to correct the condition have been around for at least 4000 years. In fact, Cataracts were written about in records from the time of Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician, as well as in the Bible and in ancient Hindu documents. Considering just how devastating vision loss is today even with support systems for the visually impaired, we can only imagine the difficulty that those with Cataracts would have faced in ancient times.
Though there are a number causes for Cataracts including aging, the end result is the same with a clouding in the lens of the eye that prevents the proper movement of light into the eye. The severity of this light obstruction in the lens can vary considerably causing widely varying levels of vision loss to people with the condition.
What Are The Risks of Cataracts As We Age?
Among the causes of Cataracts, those occurring as a result of aging are extremely common with roughly 33% to 43% of people in the age range of 60 to 80 at risk for development of the condition. In the UK, some 300,000 Cataract procedures are performed each year and in the US, Cataract procedures are the single biggest cost to Medicare. Worse still is that by 2025, Johns Hopkins’ Researchers estimate that the number of cases will have increased by 50% from levels in 2004.
With these sorts of statistics, it is quite clear that prevention of cataracts would result in significant savings to health systems and individuals. Fortunately, as medical science continues to increase the understanding of Cataracts, researchers continue to find ways in which each of us can reduce our risks for developing the condition.
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