Senile cataracts: evidence for acceleration by diabetes and deceleration by salicylate.

A method is described for determining the natural progression of senile cataracts in humans and whether certain factors accelerate or decelerate this progression. The method consists in plotting the age of the patient against the degree of opacity of the cataract to find the regression relation. A comparison of cataracts from diabetic and nondiabetic patients revealed that diabetes accelerated senile cataract formation, so that there was a difference of 9.6 years in the age of the two groups with more dense cataracts. Plasma tryptophan levels, which are increased in cataract patients, are lowered by acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). In this study ASA decelerated cataract formation in diabetic and nondiabetic patients. Among the nondiabetic patients cataract formation in a group with osteoarthritis was delayed by an average of 10 years. Deceleration of cataract formation resulting from ASA administration may reduce the need for surgical removal of cataracts.