The association between pinguecula, sunlight and cataract
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 25, 2026

Characterization of Molecular Mechanisms of In vivo UVR Induced Cataract
Published on: November 28, 2012
Abstract:
The pathology and epidemiology of pinguecula suggest that it is due to exposure to sunlight. There is some epidemiological and laboratory evidence that sunlight is an etiological factor in cataract so that it would be expected that the two conditions--pinguecula and cataract--would occur together more frequently than by chance. In a series of patients requiring cataract extraction pinguecula did not occur more frequently than in sex- and and aged-matched controls. Although there was a correlation between an outdoor working environment and the incidence of pinguecula there was no such correlation with cataract. It is concluded that direct exposure of the eye to sunlight did not seem to be a factor in the development of age-related cataract in this population.
Related Concept Videos
Pigmentation
Melanin occurs in two primary forms: eumelanin that provides black and brown pigment and pheomelanin that provides red color. Dark-skinned individuals produce more melanin than those with pale...
Glaucoma: Overview
Open Angle Glaucoma: Treatment
Drugs such as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, α2- and...
Angle Closure Glaucoma: Treatment
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways

