1 Volume 4; Issue 01 Ophthalmology Research & Reports Research Article Tzamouranis DD, et al. Ophthalmol Res Rep 4: 138. Assessment of Contrast Sensitivity in Cataract Simulation Tzamouranis Dorotheos-Dimitrios 1* , Kakoura Stavroula 1 , Karetsos George 1 , Chandrinos Aristeidis 2 1 Investigative Techniques in Optometry Research Group, Department of Biomedical Sciences-School of Health and Welfare, University of West Attica, Campus One, Athens, Greece 2 Assistant Professor of Optometry, Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health and Welfare, University of West Attica, Cam- pus One, Athens, Greece * Corresponding author: Tzamouranis Dorotheos-Dimitrios, Investigative Techniques in Optometry Research Group, Department of Biomedical Sciences-School of Health and Welfare, University of West Attica, Campus One, Athens, Greece. Tel: +(30) 210 5385 639; Email: d.tzamouranisuniwa@gmail.com Citation: Tzamouranis DD, Kakoura S, Karetsos G, Chandrinos A (2019) Assessment of Contrast Sensitivity in Cataract Simula- tion. Ophthalmol Res Rep 4: 138. DOI:10.29011/ORRT-138.100038 Received Date: 16 September, 2019; Accepted Date: 20 September, 2019; Published Date: 27 September, 2019 DOI:10.29011/ORRT-138.100038 Abstract Cataract is an opacifcation of the crystalline lens, lessening vision and eventually leading to blindness, if left untreated. Affects almost half of the population aged over 60s. Age-related type is a common reason for eye surgery in the elderly. Contrast sensitivity is the visual ability to distinguish an object from its background and to discriminate between similar shades. It may be infuenced by both ocular and neurological conditions. Contrast sensitivity declines with age and eye disorders, like cataract or diabetic retinopathy. Although various charts have been designed for contrast sensitivity evaluation the Pelli-Robson chart provides a quick and reliable test in the clinical setting. In current study, 12 healthy young people have been tested in simulated age-related cataract conditions, including three stages of severity. After statistical analysis, results illustrated much infuence of contrast sensitivity at all states, reaching high level of decline in late stages, both monocular and binocular. Keywords: Age-related cataract; Contrast sensitivity (CS); Pelli-Robson chart; Simulation Introduction Cataract is an eye condition where the environment looks blurry, hazy or less colorful [1-3]. Most age-related cataracts develop gradually. Vision experts cannot predict how quickly a person’s cataract will develop [4]. Current studies estimated that 20 million people worldwide are blind due to bilateral cataracts. This number is supposed to rise to 32 million by 2020. More than half of all global blindness is cataract induced [5-8]. The prevalence of lens disorders makes the basic and clinical science of the lens an important subject in ophthalmologic training. Age-related cataract is not a single disease but rather three different types of lens changes, cortical, nuclear and sub capsular opacities [9]. All types have a signifcant impact on visual function. There are some proven effects of cataract on vision like monocular diplopia, astigmatism, reduced contrast sensitivity, sense of glare, change of colour perception, reduction of light transmission, visual feld loss and reduced visual acuity [4,10,11]. Assessment of the overall cataract effect on visual function is probably a more appropriate way to determine visual performance than is visual acuity alone [12,13]. On the contrary, visual acuity reveals only the size of high contrast black and white letters that the individual is capable of seeing activities and living quality [14]. In everyday life, good contrast sensitivity is essential to distinguish a grey object on a heavy cloudy day, to detect unmarked steps in grey-cemented stairs, and to discriminate faint contours on people’s faces to recognize them. People with low contrast sensitivity often lose the viewing image clarity and sharpness. The main procedure to compensate for this shortfall is to simply add some contrast to their environment, whenever possible [15,16].