A Comprehensive Review of Molecular Biology and Genetics of Cataract

Abstract

Cataract is one of the oldest diseases. Even in the 21st century, the disease is often neglected and treated as an insignificant threat. Although the facts and figures account for the opposite, it is found that globally cataract holds for more than 50% of blindness. Cataract is also one of the first five immediate focus areas of a global Initiative called 'Vision 2020', which intends to eradicate preventable blindness by 2020. The disease is termed as multifactorial; has various extrinsic environmental and intrinsic cell biology factors determining its progress. Over the years, enormous progress has been made towards cataract including the identification of its risk factors. Yet the current scientific knowledge is far from developing a proven preventive or pharmacological strategy for it. The surgical method has been the only way to cure cataract by far. In this paper, we tried to give a comprehensive bird eye view for the disease; we have (a) reviewed briefly the recent progress in delineating the molecular biology and risk factors of cataract (b) delved into genetics of the cataract and overviewed crucial gene families related to the disease identified through single-gene mutations and Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS).