Presbyopia, also known as short arm syndrome, is a medical term used to describe a vision defect where the natural lens loses its accommodation power. Accommodation power refers to the ability of the eye lens to change its focal distance, depending on whether the object in view is placed up-close or far away. This is a common disorder that virtually everyone experiences in their middle age. Specifically, at the onset of the 40s, people experience blurred vision while looking at nearby objects, such as when reading or sewing.
Presbyopia is different from other vision disorders, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism these are all concerned with the shape of the eyeball or the corneal tissue and are caused due to genetic factors, trauma, or disease. However, Presbyopia is an age related disorder and is believed to be caused due to a gradual loss of elasticity of the natural eye lens. As the eye lens stiffens with age, it is difficult for the lens to focus up close.
Presbyopia is not normally curable, but the loss of accommodation power can be compensated for by using eyeglasses or contact lenses. A few patients might require bifocal or progressive...