Simulation of heat exposure and damage to the eye lens in a neighborhood bakery

Abstract

Epidemiological studies indicated a link between high temperature environment and cataract. The purpose of the study was to investigate if the high temperature in neighborhood bakeries can cause damage to the eye lens. Measurements were done to determine the temperature and exposure time in the neighborhood bakeries during a workday. Thermal analysis was done using finite volume and finite element Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) codes in order to determine the temperature in the eye lens when exposed to environmental temperature fluctuations. A simulation of heat exposure was carried out using a bovine lens organ culture system. Two-hundred and seventy bovine lenses were divided into five groups. (1) Control group kept in culture for 11-14 days (2) Lenses exposed to 39.5 degrees C, 6h daily starting on the second day of the culture and kept in culture for 13 days (3) Lenses exposed to 39.5 degrees C, 4h daily starting on the second day of the culture and kept in culture for 11 days (4) Lenses exposed to 39.5 degrees C, 2h daily for 3 days starting on the second day of the culture and kept in culture for 12 days (5) Lenses exposed to 39.5 degrees C, 1h on the second day of the culture and kept in culture for 14 days. Lens optical quality was assessed during the culture period. At the end of the culture lens damage was demonstrated by inverted microscopy. Lens epithelial samples were taken for analysis of Catalase activities. Control lenses maintained their optical quality throughout the 14 days of the culture. Exposure to heat caused optical damage to the cultured lenses. The damage appeared earlier in the 6h exposure group and progressed from the lens anterior suture to its center. Optical damage was recovered in lenses exposed 1h to 39.5 degrees C, but the damage remained in the lens epithelial cells. Our study indicates that exposure to heat in bakeries can cause damage to the eye lens and that the damage is dependent on the length of exposure.