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Is cortical spoke cataract due to lens fibre breaks? The relationship between fibre folds, fibre breaks, waterclefts and spoke cataract

Eye volume 7, pages 672–679 (1993)Cite this article

Abstract

Fibre folds, previously called lamellar separation of the lens, have been found by electron microscopy to be associated with fibre breaks, which are seen in vivo as the circular shades of Obazawa. This led to the present study to determine the relationship between fibre folds, fibre breaks, waterclefts and spoke cataract. All lenses with fibre folds were found to have circular shades. A few instances of circular shades without fibre folds were found, suggesting that the fibre break may be the primary pathology. It was found that circular shades occurred in association with spoke cataract only when fibre folds were also present. Thus there is no essential causal relationship between fibre breaks and spoke cataract. The occurrence of waterclefts was unrelated to the presence of the other features. The lower nasal quadrant of the lens was the most common site for the four features. The depth of spoke cataracts was found to be unrelated to the age of the patient, which makes it unlikely that accommodational stress at the time of onset of presbyopia is causative.

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Affiliations

  1. Clinical Cataract Research Unit, Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Oxford, UK

    Nicholas Phelps Brown, Martin L Harris, G Adrien Shun-Shin & Anthony J Bron

  2. Department of Morphology, The Netherlands Ophthalmic Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Gijs F J M Vrensen & Ben Willekens

Authors
  1. Nicholas Phelps Brown
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  2. Martin L Harris
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  3. G Adrien Shun-Shin
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  4. Gijs F J M Vrensen
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  5. Ben Willekens
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  6. Anthony J Bron
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Brown, N., Harris, M., Shun-Shin, G. et al. Is cortical spoke cataract due to lens fibre breaks? The relationship between fibre folds, fibre breaks, waterclefts and spoke cataract. Eye 7, 672–679 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/eye.1993.154

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/eye.1993.154

Keywords

  • Cataract
  • Lens fibre breaks
  • Lens fibre folds
  • Lens waterclefts

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