Pharmacological treatments for thyroid eye disease.
Thyroid eye disease (TED), which affects the majority of patients with Grave's disease, is associated with significant ophthalmic morbidity. In patients with mild disease, supportive treatment with lubricating medication can be sufficient. However, in patients with severe TED and disfiguring proptosis or sight-threatening neuropathy, more aggressive medical or surgical interventions are necessary. Corticosteroids remain the preferred pharmacological treatment modality in the majority of patients with an active inflammatory component. Other immunosuppressive drugs in combination with corticosteroids may be helpful in patients with corticosteroid-resistant TED. Newer agents such as somatostatin analogues have not shown to be of significant clinical benefit; however, initial studies on the use of antioxidants and cytokine antagonists are encouraging.
Modjtahedi
Sara P
SP
Division of Orbital and Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and the Department of Ophthalmology, Jules Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095-7006, USA.
Modjtahedi
Bobeck S
BS
Mansury
Ahmad M
AM
Selva
Dinesh
D
Douglas
Raymond S
RS
Goldberg
Robert A
RA
Leibovitch
Igal
I
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004351:Drug Resistance / Q000187:drug effects; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D049970:Graves Ophthalmopathy / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents