[The physiopathology of primary cataract].

The alteration of the lens with the age are mainly due to the diminishing of the energetic metabolism, whose consequence is the diminishing of the synthesis of poliphosphate nucleotides and RNA, decreasing also the protein synthesis. From a biomolecular point of view alterations of the DNA appear, because of the increase in the activity of ADP-ribosyl transferasis with the age. The progress of the cellular biology and the knowledge of the physiopathological mechanisms implied in the opacification of the lens, opens new prospects in the prevention of this form of cataract.