Editing Cataract (section)

===Age===
Age is the most common cause of cataracts.<ref name=NIH2009/><ref name=WHOPri/> Lens proteins [[Denaturation (biochemistry)|denature]] and degrade over time, and this process is accelerated by diseases such as [[diabetes mellitus]] and [[hypertension]]. Environmental factors, including toxins, radiation, and [[ultraviolet light]] have cumulative effects which are worsened by the loss of protective and restorative mechanisms due to alterations in gene expression and chemical processes within the eye.<ref name="yanoff">{{cite book |title=Ophthalmology |vauthors=Duker JS, Yanoff M |publisher=Mosby/Elsevier |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-323-04332-8 |location=St. Louis, Missouri |language=en-us}}{{page needed|date=May 2016}}</ref>

[[Oxidative stress]] associated with [[lipid peroxidation]] is an important pathogenic mechanism in cataract formation.<ref name="Hsueh2022">{{cite journal | doi=10.3390/ijms23031255 | doi-access=free | title=The Pathomechanism, Antioxidant Biomarkers, and Treatment of Oxidative Stress-Related Eye Diseases | date=2022 | last1=Hsueh | first1=Yi-Jen | last2=Chen | first2=Yen-Ning | last3=Tsao | first3=Yu-Ting | last4=Cheng | first4=Chao-Min | last5=Wu | first5=Wei-Chi | last6=Chen | first6=Hung-Chi | journal=International Journal of Molecular Sciences | volume=23 | issue=3 | page=1255 | pmid=35163178 | pmc=8835903 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Lipid peroxidation: pathophysiological and pharmacological implications in the eye|first1=Ya Fatou|last1=Njie-Mbye|first2=Madhura|last2=Chitnis|first3=Catherine|last3=Opere|first4=Sunny|last4=Ohia|date=January 18, 2013|journal=Frontiers in Physiology|volume=4|page=366 |doi=10.3389/fphys.2013.00366|doi-access=free |pmid=24379787 |pmc=3863722}}</ref> Senile cataracts are associated with a decrease in [[antioxidant]] capacity in the lens.<ref name = Hsueh2022/> An increase in oxidative stress in the lens or a decrease in the ability to remove [[reactive oxygen species]] can lead to the lens becoming more opaque.<ref name = Hsueh2022/>