[Formation of radiation and involution cataracts in man exposed to radiation]

An ophthalmologic follow-up of subjects exposed to chronic total external gamma-irradiation (747 subjects) and to gamma-neutron irradiation (1083 subjects) in total doses of 1 to 10 Gy has revealed no cases of radiation involvement of the eyes. Besides, a group of 8 patients with a history of acute radiation sickness were followed up, who were exposed to external gamma-neutron irradiation in total doses of 4 to 9.8 Gy. All these patients developed radiation burns of the skin of the face and eyelids, eyelashes and eyebrows epilation, 6 of these radiation cataracts and 2 mixed-type cataracts (radiation involutional ones). Radiation cataracts were developing within 10-32 months (the first stage). A forty-years' follow-up of the formation of radiation and involution cataracts permitted the authors single out the pathogenetic differences between these types and use these data for the solution of expert evaluation problems and problems related to social protection of people with acute radiation injuries of the eyes. The authors' results and the literature data evidence that, with due consideration for the irradiation dose and the patient's age, one can predict the type of a would-be cataract, periods of its formation and progress, and the treatment strategy.