European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

THE SPECTRUM OF IMMATURE SENILE CATARACT: FROM MOLECULAR MECHANISMS TO SURGICAL INTERVENTION

*Dr. Pragati Rajaram Gajabhe and Dr. Chandrashekhar N. Mule

ABSTRACT

Immature senile cataract (ISC) is a critical stage of age-related cataract, the world's leading cause of reversible blindness, where partial lens opacification significantly impacts quality of life. Its pathophysiology is rooted in complex molecular mechanisms, including chronic oxidative stress and the misfolding and aggregation of crystallin proteins, which ultimately scatter light. Clinically, ISC manifests in distinct forms—nuclear, cortical, or posterior subcapsular—each with unique visual consequences. While diagnosis and pre-operative evaluation are key to a good outcome, the definitive treatment is phacoemulsification. This microsurgical procedure removes the cataract and implants an intraocular lens (IOL), with advanced IOL technology offering greater spectacle independence. This synthesis of molecular understanding and surgical innovation underscores the remarkable progress in treating ISC, a condition that transitions from a cellular disorder to a surgically correctable cause of blindness.

Keywords: Immature Senile Cataract, Pathophysiology, Oxidative Stress, Crystallin, Phacoemulsification, Intraocular Lens.