Age-Related Nuclear Cataract (ARNC) is caused due to aggregation or clumping of lens proteins α-crystallin.
The cataract is a cloudy area in the eye lens that leads to blurry vision or a decrease in vision. The Age-Related Nuclear Cataract (ARNC) is a cataract that developed in the lens during aging. Cataracts can form in different places on the lens. In the posterior subcapsular cataract, a cloudy area developed in the back of the lens. In a nuclear cataract, a cloudy area developed in the middle of the lens. In the cortical cataract, a cloudy area developed on the edges of the lens.
The development of a cloudy area in the lens is caused due to aggregation of lens proteins called α-crystallin. These crystallin proteins are present in the lens fiber in a soluble form. With the advancement of age, these soluble crystallin proteins denatured and unfolded over time and forms aggregates. Slowly high molecular weight protein aggregates increase in the human lens. This aggregation of proteins makes the lens transparent to opaque.
