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Arch Ophthalmol. 2002;120:1394-1396.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Posterior capsular opacification (PCO) is the most common complication of cataract surgery. It occurs in as many as 50% of patients within the first 2 to 3 years following the procedure.¹

Lens capsule opacification appears to be caused by lens epithelial cells (LEC) retained in the capsular bag after surgery. Remnant LEC may undergo regression or, alternatively, proliferate, migrate, and transdifferentiate to myofibroblasts in a process called epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Myofibroblasts are spindle-shaped cells that express the smooth muscle actin (-SMA) and secrete large amounts of extracellular matrix, including collagen types I, III, and IV. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition is usually associated with fibrosis and wrinkling of the lens capsule.² Unaltered nontransformed LEC do not produce extracellular matrix and do not express -SMA.^3-4

The clinical and histopathologic findings in a diabetic patient with marked anterior and posterior capsule opacification are presented. Histopathologic evaluation of a specimen obtained from the anterior lens capsule . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Report of a Case


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Corresponding author and reprints: Noemi Lois, MD, PhD, Retina Service, Ophthalmology Department, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZA, Scotland (e-mail: noemilois@aol.com).