Dynamic light-scattering measurement for a salt-induced cataract in the eye lens of a chicken

We study the dynamical behavior in the eye lens of a chicken inflicted with a cataract induced by a salt solution. The mean diffusion coefficient D¯ in the cataracted lens estimated in this work is approximately expressed by a power law as a function of the salt concentration of ‖C-${\mathit{C}}^{\mathrm{*}}$‖. Our experimental findings suggest that the salt concentration should be a relevant parameter for describing the dynamical behavior in a cataracted lens. The magnitude of D¯ obtained for the cataracted lens is approximately five times smaller than that for the normal one, which is almost compatible with the earlier work of Tanaka and Benedek [Invest. Ophthalmol. 14, 449 (1975)]. The diffusive decay in the salt-induced cataract, which should be regarded as an osmotic type of cataract, has been discussed in terms of the phase separation associated with the lens opacification following the concept of Tanaka, Ishimoto, and Chylack [Science 197, 1010 (1977)].