Understanding Senile Cataracts: Types, Symptoms & Treatment

A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens of the eye that makes it difficult to see clearly. This condition in a person older than 60 is a senile cataract. The type of senile cataract depends on the layer of the lens that becomes cloudy.

Layers of the Lens

• The lens consists of several layers: the lens capsule that is a thin covering, the cortex of the lens and the clear core that is called the nucleus.

Nuclear Cataract

• In a nuclear senile cataract, the nucleus of the lens becomes hardened and discolored; this cataract is the most common type in older people.

Cortical Cataract

• The fibers that form the cortex of the lens become opaque (white) in a cortical cataract and often resemble "spokes" on the lens; this type of cataract often causes glare.

Subcapsular Cataract

• Subcapsular cataracts are the result of the formation of opacities on either the anterior (rare) or posterior (more common) part of the lens capsule; this type of cataract develops rapidly and is more common in people with diabetes or steroid use.

Advanced Cataracts

• With Morgagnian cataracts, the cortex of the lens completely liquifies and the nucleus of the lens dislocates in the lens capsule; this usually only happens in advanced cataract cases and rarely in the United States.