Hi! A friend invited me to this website, and I think this is a great opportunity to ask about a certain disease that seems to run in the family. My grandfather, who is about 74 years old, has grade 4 eye cataracts, and according to him, his siblings also suffered from this disease. His son, who is my father, is 47 years old and also has an eye cataract. So, is it true that cataract disease is genetic?
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This is interesting! Thank you for your question.
Eye cataracts result in the clouding of the lens, which impairs eyesight. There are several cases of cataracts being inherited in families as a result of genetic mutations that parents pass on to their offspring. However, the majority of cataract instances are brought on by age and the cumulative effects of prolonged environmental exposures. Moreover, the onset of the signs of aging that contribute to cataracts may also be inherited from the parents, which is dependent on the length of the telomeres, or caps, of our chromosomes. Since we inherit one set of chromosomes from each of our parents, the probability of getting the same chromosomes as they do, including the conditions and/or mutations in their chromosomes, is quite high; thus, we inherit whatever their chromosomes possess, either good or bad. And in your case, your family might be passing on the cataract disease. But don’t fret, because eye cataracts can be successfully removed through surgery. For more information, you may visit the following links:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/are-cataracts-hereditary#summary
https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/cataracts
Hope this helps! 😊
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