Senile Cataracts—A Biochemical Review of Senile Cortical and Nuclear Cataracts

Senile cataracts and the HLA system.

Supplementing glucose metabolism in human senile cataracts.

Assay of the activities of hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, and pyruvate kinase showed that the first two declined in aging human lens cortex and all three enzymes retained constant activities in the epithelium throughout life. Moreover, both clear and cataractous aging lenses contained the same enzyme activities. ATP contents in cataracts, however, were lower than in clear lenses; in fact, aft...

Transglutaminase activity in normal human lenses and in senile cataracts.

Transglutaminase, the main function of which is to crosslink peptide chains through isopeptide bonds, has been detected in the lens of laboratory animals and in human cataracts and has been implicated in cataractogenesis. The transglutaminase activity has been estimated by measuring the amount of 3H-putrescine incorporation into dimethyl-casein of clear noncataractous human lenses and by compar...

Loss of free amino groups in the water-insoluble fraction of nuclear senile cataracts.

Free amino groups were analyzed in the water-insoluble fraction (WIF) of cataractous human lenses of the nuclear sclerosis, pigmented type. Two modified versions of the trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) procedure for the determination of free amino groups in proteins (AFSA Habeeb, Anal Biochem 14:328-336, 1966) were used for this purpose. The concentration of free amino groups in WIF was fou...

Senile scleral plaques and senile scleromalacia.

A case of senile scleral plaques is reported in which expulsion of a calcified plaque anterior to the insertion of the medial horizontal rectus muscle gave rise to senile scleromalacia. Histopathological examination revealed a second calcified plaque at the site of the contralateral senile scleral plaque in this eye. This case indicates that senile scleromalacia is a scleral disease sui generis...