Cataract type and pupillary response to blue and white light stimuli

We evaluated the pupil reaction to blue and white light stimulation in 70 eyes with cataract and in 38 eyes with a selective blue-light filtering intra-ocular lens. The diameter of the pupil before stimulation was set as baseline (BPD) and, after a stimulus duration of 1 s, the post-illumination pupillary response (PIPR) was measured using an electronic pupillometer. The BPD showed no significant difference among three grades of nuclear sclerosis (NS). In contrast, the PIPRs differed significantly among the NS grades eyes including with and without subcapsular cataract (SC) and IOL eyes for white light (p < 0.05, Kruskal–Wallis test), but not for blue light. Subcapsular opacity did not affect the BPD or PIPR in all cataract grades for either light stimulus. The tendency of larger PIPR in the pseudophakic eyes than the cataract eyes for both lights, however significant difference was found only for white light (p < 0.05 for white light, p > 0.05 for blue light). Our study demonstrates retention of the PIPR for blue light, but not for white light in cataract eyes. We also confirmed that the pupillary response in pseudohakic eyes with a selective blue light-filtering intra ocular lens was greater than that in cataractous eyes for white light.