Cataracts result in significant vision reduction. It is estimated that cataract was responsible for the morbidity of 10.8 million people (of overall 32.4 million blind people around the world), and 35.1 million people (of overall 191 million vision impaired people around the world). It is also the most common cause of blindness in many countries, including Saudi Arabia. We tried to understand, in details, the pathogenesis of cataracts, with special focus on how ageing is a contributory factor in its development. We conducted this review using a comprehensive search of MEDLINE, PubMed and EMBASE from January 1970 to March 2017. The following search terms were used: cataracts, pathogenesis of cataracts, pathophysiology in cataracts, ageing lens, aging and vision loss, lens degeneration. Cataracts heavily impacts the vision, thereby, the lives of individuals suffering from it. Due to its large prevalence, the impact on economy is large too. Although surgery is very promising, newer approach is focusing on its pathophysiology to emphasize on preventive options. Several changes, including oxidative stress, reduction in reductive enzymes, lens elasticity, and specific age related degeneration play major roles in its pathophysiology.

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Background: The level of awareness and attitudes of primary care physicians toward diagnosing myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) is widely unexplored and many physicians overlook the symptoms of MPNs.Identifying MPN related symptoms by the primary care physician can lead to early recognition of the disease and prevent MPN related complications. Methods: In this cross-sectional study data was collected via a survey questionnaire from 99 primary care physicians (family medicine, internal medicine, emergency medicine) within the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs (MNGHA) facilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The aim is to assess the primary care physicians' awareness of MPN related symptoms. Results: There is a statistically significant difference in the level of awareness of MPN symptoms between physicians in each department. Emergency physicians scored the lowest mean score (3.21+0.22) and failed to identify most of the MPN-related symptoms whereas most Internal Medicine physicians (3.46+0.34) and Family Medicine physicians (3.45 +0.34) were able to identify most of the symptoms. Conclusion: Many physicians failed to recognize disease specific symptoms but were able to identify "B" symptoms. A great proportion of physician failed to recognize splenomegaly related symptoms which are associated with poor disease outcome. Therefore, we emphasize the importance of educating primary care physicians of the presentation of these disorders which can prevent unnecessary hospital costs and achieve better patient outcomes.