What happens to the lens with aging?

What happens to the lens with aging?

• A. It stiffens and loses accommodation
• B. It becomes more elastic
• C. It thickens but maintains accommodation
• D. It shrinks in volume

Answer: (A)

As people age, the lens becomes stiffer and less elastic due to changes in its capsule and protein structure. Accommodation relies on the lens changing shape to focus up close, but a rigid lens cannot bend as easily, so near vision becomes blurred and the near point moves farther away. The lens does tend to thicken a bit as new lens fibers are added over time, but this thickening doesn’t preserve the ability to accommodate. The lens does not shrink in volume; it generally grows slowly with age. Thus the hallmark change is stiffening with loss of accommodation.

As people age, the lens becomes stiffer and less elastic due to changes in its capsule and protein structure. Accommodation relies on the lens changing shape to focus up close, but a rigid lens cannot bend as easily, so near vision becomes blurred and the near point moves farther away. The lens does tend to thicken a bit as new lens fibers are added over time, but this thickening doesn’t preserve the ability to accommodate. The lens does not shrink in volume; it generally grows slowly with age. Thus the hallmark change is stiffening with loss of accommodation.