### condition | illness | disease:

Cataract
* Describe the formation of a cataract.
* Learn about cataracts, the most common cause of canine blindness.
* Most cataracts are a result of ageing and long-term exposure to ultraviolet light
  - cause blindness
  - develop as a result of normal aging and slowly become more dense
  - form slowly with gradual vision loss over the course of months or even years
  - gradually decrease vision
  - grow slowly over a period of years, though some develop more rapidly
  - lead to blindness
* Most cataracts occur as part of the aging process
  - naturally as people get older
* Some cataracts are slow to form while others mature in only a matter of months
  - cause a loss of vision under glare circumstances
  - first affect reading or other types of close work
* Some cataracts occur in cortexes
  - surround cortexes
* account for at least half of the cases of blindness in the world.
* affect the crystalline lens.
* also appear over time and are permanent.
* also are common in older dogs
  - more common in diabetics who have poorly controlled blood sugar levels
  - occur more frequently in diabetics
* appear as dark opacities within the retroillumination of the pupil
  - gray to white areas in the lens
  - in early childhood and can develop quickly
* are a cloudiness of the eye's lens resulting in blurred vision
  - lens inside the eye, which occurs over a period of many years
  - that form in the lens of the eye
  - clouding of the eye's internal focusing lens
* are a clouding of the lens at the front of the eye
  - of the eyes, resulting in poor vision
  - cloudy areas that form in the lens of the eye
  - common cause of poor vision among adults, particularly for the elderly
* are a common cause of vision loss in older adults
  - eye condition where the lens of the eye becomes cloudy
  - condition in which part of the eye is clouded
* are a form of eye damage in which the lens loses transparency and clouds vision
  - damage, a loss of transparency in the lens which clouds vision
  - hardening of the lenses, which turn opaque and obscure vision
* are a leading cause of blindness among adults in the United States
  - major cause of visual impairment and blindness worldwide
* are a normal development in the aging eye
  - part of aging
  - result of the aging process but can also affect younger individuals
  - side effect and in a small number of people diabetes result
  - very common cause of impaired vision
  - already the largest cause of blindness in the world
  - among the most common and treatable eye problems
* are an example of a deterministic effect
  - opacity that forms in the lens and either clouds or blocks vision
  - any opaque spot on the lens of the eye, causing at least some loss of vision
* are cloudy areas in part or all of the eye lens
  - that develop in the normally clear lens of the eye
  - opacities in the eye's lens that can obscure vision
  - commmon in older dogs of certain breeds, though, as is glaucoma
  - common among people with diabetes
* are common in dogs
  - elderly people
  - patients treated with glucocorticoids
  - with age and can occur in one or both eyes
  - curable with surgery
  - dense, cloudy areas in the lens of a child's eye
  - diseases
  - due to a change in the lens material
  - even more prevalent in some other populations
  - extremely common, and happen with most people as they age
  - eye diseases
  - fungal growths on the eyes
  - growths on the lens of the eye that cloud vision
  - illnesses
  - irregular collections of protein densities within the lens
  - like smudges or cloudy patches on a glass window
* are more common in diabetics
  - patients with atopic dermatitis
  - often a problem in great cats which are hand-raised
* are one of the leading causes of blindness
  - most common causes of impaired vision in the world
  - possible complications of classic galactosemia
* are opacities in the lens of the eye which impair vision
  - opaque areas in the lens of the eye that obstruct vision
  - painless and usually develop slowly over time
  - painless, progress very slowly, and are visible only after they become advanced
  - protein crystals which grow in the lens of the eye
* are the gradual formation of protein clumps that eventually cloud the lens of the eye
  - leading cause of blindness in the world
  - main cause of blindness worldwide
  - major cause of treatable vision loss in the United States
* are the most common cause of avoidable blindness
  - progressively blurry vision
* are the number one cause of blindness in the world
* are very common and due to the aging process
  - prevalent in Sudan, and strike the people there at a very early age
  - waterfalls
  - when the lens of the eye becomes hazy
  - widespread
* are, to the best of our knowledge, the most common of the hereditary eye problems.
* associated with diabetes are considered the most common complication in dogs.
* bear no distinguishing features that identify their etiology.
* become more common as people age.
* begin in childhood.
* blur or dim vision.
* can accompany aging, probably due to changes in the chemical state of lens proteins.
* can also cause the pupil to appear white
  - change the power of the human lens and thus the lens power needed for glasses
  - exist at birth, or can be caused by an injury or by diseases such as diabetes
* can be hereditary in some family situations
  - like looking through a window smeared with petroleum jelly
  - of various types and often lead to visual compromise in young patients
  - begin to form, as well as osteoporosis
* can cause blindness if untreated, but sight can be restored
  - deprivation amblyopia
  - many different visual effects
  - other visual disturbances
  - develop in both eyes, but often at different rates
  - form at any age, but most often it develops as people get older
* can have a number of different causes, including disease or heredity
  - several causes, one of which is prolonged exposure to too much sunlight
* can occur at all ages, even in babies
  - any age but are more common as people get older
  - very young dogs, middle-aged dogs and senior dogs
  - take from a few months to several years to develop
* cause a clouding with distortions and lack of clarity in the lens of the eye
  - film to cover the lens of the eye which then prevents light from entering the eye
  - progressive, painless loss of vision
  - blurring and dimming of vision, as well as problems with glare
  - dimness of vision or eventual loss of vision
  - eyes to cloud up and reduce vision
  - great discomfort, impaired vision, and are a major cause of blindness in dogs
  - mild yellowing or clouding of the lens
  - the eye's clear lens to become cloudy, blocking light
* change vision slowly.
* cloud the lens of the eye, which can lead to blindness
  - normally-clear lens of the eye, causing blurring of vision
* condition where the lens of the eye becomes clouded.
* decrease the amount of light that passes through the lens and can bend light abnormally.
* develop faster in some people than in others
  - in almost everyone sooner or later
  - over a period of months to years
* form as part of the natural aging process
  - when the proteins in the lens undergo chemical changes
* generally can blur the vision and can change a glasses prescription.
* grow at many different rates ranging from just a few weeks to several years.
* have many causes.
* involve oxidation of the clear, transparent lens proteins.
* is among the commonest pathologies affecting the crystalline
  - an eye disease
  - another common condition among people with diabetes
  - by far the most frequent cause of visual loss worldwide
  - more common in people who have certain diseases such as diabetes
  - when excessive blood-glucose levels change proteins in the lens
* make the lens opaque.
* means opacities, cloudiness of the lens.
* never affect visual acuity.
* occur in severe deficiencies
  - more commonly in tropical or sunny areas
* occur most frequently as people grow older
  - where the sun is brightest and the upper atmosphere ozone the lowest
  - often in individuals over the age of sixty-five
* occur when the eye's lens becomes cloudy, obstructing the passage of light to the retina
  - lens of the eye becomes cloudy, resulting in a gradual loss of vision
  - with advancing age
* often form in middle age of people with the disorder
  - slowly and cause no pain, redness, or tearing in the eye
  - increase glare that creates halos around headlights or street lights
* produce a progressive, painless loss of vision.
* progress more quickly with exposure to ultraviolet radiation and cigarette smoking
  - slowly, causing minor vision problems at first
* reduce vision, just as a dirty windshield diminishes a driver's view of the road.
* represents the single most important cause of curable blindness worldwide.
* requires skilled surgeons to provide operative care, now with intraocular lens implants.
* result when the lens of the eye gradually becomes opaque, obstructing vision.
* tend to be progressive in size and density, obscuring vision as they grow
  - grow slowly, so vision gets worse gradually
  - scatter light, similar to a frosted window in wintertime
* typically occur with advancing age, but can occur at birth.
* usually begin as small dots or bubbles and progress to encompass other areas of the lens.
* usually develop gradually and without pain, redness, or tearing in the eye
  - over a number of years
  - in both eyes and develop at different rates
* usually develop in both eyes, but often at different amounts
* usually develop slowly and at a different rate in each eye
  - with age just like gray hair
  - form after a latent period of several years