Saint Nicholas is claimed to have a twinkle in his eye, however there’s an actual well being situation that creates the same impact in sufferers: the aptly named ‘Christmas tree cataracts’.
Christmas tree cataracts are a uncommon age-related situation, typically taking optometrists unexpectedly after they encounter the glistening, multicolored crystals suspended within the lens of a affected person’s eye, lit up by direct focal illumination.
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One case research describes the dazzling impact these cataracts produce as “a spectacular array of polychromatic needle-shaped crystals… giving the looks of coloured lights adorning the branches as on a Christmas tree”.
This ‘Christmas tree’ sparkle kinds when calcium builds up within the lens, rushing up the disintegration of crystallin proteins.
The protein breakdown results in an extra of cystine, an amino acid that, at excessive concentrations, crystallizes to kind the needle-like shards.
These refract the optometrist’s mild, producing a wide range of colours, together with pink, inexperienced, blue, pink, and gold, relying on the angle of the sunshine supply.
The situation does not typically influence sufferers’ visible acuity, however it’s related to myotonic dystrophy, a genetic dysfunction that causes muscular dystrophy.
Some research have discovered Christmas tree cataracts in almost all sufferers with myotonic dystrophy sort 1, which suggests it may very well be a helpful approach of recognizing the degenerative illness in its early phases.
