Thyroid orbitopathy
The thyroid is the gland of the endocrine system that produces, stores and secretes the thyroid hormones T3 and T4. These hormones are released into the blood and control the cellular activity of the organism and the metabolism of the human body. Thyroid orbitopathy is a autoimmune disease that alters the functioning of the thyroid gland and affects some orbital components.
Thyroid orbitopathy can affect the extrinsic muscles of the eyealters the eyeball size and can cause eyelid retraction. This condition is more common in women than in men and its progression is associated, among others, with tobacco consumption.
Thyroid ophthalmopathy
The thyroid is the gland of the endocrine system that produces, stores and secretes the thyroid hormones T3 and T4. These hormones are released into the blood and control the cellular activity of the organism and the metabolism of the human body. Thyroid orbitopathy is a autoimmune disease that alters the functioning of the thyroid gland and affects some orbital components.
Thyroid orbitopathy can affect the extrinsic muscles of the eyealters the eyeball size and can cause eyelid retraction. This condition is more common in women than in men and its progression is associated, among others, with tobacco consumption.
What is thyroid orbitopathy?
Thyroid orbitopathy is a immune system disease that alters the functioning of the thyroid gland and affects the muscles of the eye, increases orbital fat and can cause retraction of the upper and lower eyelids. This condition is associated with thyroid disease and tobacco use.
Thyroid orbitopathy most often affects women and people with hyperthyroidism. As the disease progresses, the body produces more antibodies that turn the thyroid gland into a totally unproductive gland.
Causes
In most cases thyroid orbitopathy is associated with hyperthyroidism. Hyperthyroidism is a thyroid disease that occurs when the endocrine gland begins to overproduce thyroid hormones T3 and T4, causing a cellular and metabolic imbalance in the body.
When the thyroid produces more hormones than the body needs the patient can be affected in many ways, experiencing changes in heart rate, body weight, digestion of food and even mood. Check the time hyperthyroidism It is important to reduce the risk of suffering from thyroid orbitopathy.
In addition to hyperthyroidism, thyroid orbitopathy is associated with prolonged tobacco use.
Symptoms of thyroid orbitopathy
Thyroid orbitopathy begins to manifest through the eyelid swelling, proptosis, eyelid retraction and sometimes less frequently, squint. As the disease progresses, the symptoms experienced by each patient may be different and in some cases vision loss may occur.
When thyroid orbitopathy begins to manifest, the inflammatory process usually lasts from a few months to 2 years. Once the patient overcomes the swelling, the disease is considered to have stabilized and it is unlikely that the swelling will flare up again.
Some ophthalmological symptoms of thyroid orbitopathy are:
- Double vision for strabismus.
- Sensation of having a foreign body inside the eye.
- Enlargement of the eyeball.
- Retraction of the eyelids.
- Decreased visual acuity.
- Optic nerve compression.
- eye irritation
- Excessive tearing.
- Keratitis due to corneal injury.
In most cases, thyroid orbitopathy is a bilateral condition, but it can also be unilateral and asymmetric. It tends to affect women more frequently between 40 and 60 years of age.
Thyroid orbitopathy can be a diagnostic tool for hyperthyroidism as many people are diagnosed with thyroid orbitopathy before they know they have hyperthyroidism.
How to treat thyroid orbitopathy?
To treat thyroid orbitopathy, it is important to carry out a complete review of the patient's ocular and general health to determine the stage of the disease. Treatment of thyroid orbitopathy depends exclusively on the phase where the patient is:
Initial stage
In the initial stage of thyroid orbitopathy, all the inflammatory processes that characterize this disease take place, for this reason the treatment is aimed at stop or avoid eye drying. If the inflammation can put your vision at risk, the ophthalmologist will prescribe corticosteroid medications.
When patients do not have significant symptoms, the administration of artificial tears, the use of sunglasses and the application of cold compresses is sufficient to relieve discomfort.
Intermediate stage
If the patient has vision problems, the ophthalmologist may prescribe the consumption of anti-inflammatories together with intravenous cortisone boluses. This treatment is ideal for prevent disease progression.
Advanced stage
In the most complicated cases of the disease, fibrosis can occur that directly attacks the extrinsic muscles of the eye, responsible for the movement of the eyeball. To treat thyroid orbitopathy in this phase, it is necessary to resort to Surgical treatment, which aims to correct proptosis or exophthalmos.
the surgery of orbital decompression should be performed by a specialist in Oculoplasty and it consists of opening space in the eye socket creating a kind of window in the bone. By performing this process, both the muscles and the orbital fat have more space and can be pushed back and correct the regrowth of the eyeball.
During the thyroid orbitopathy surgery Strabismus and palpebral retraction can also be corrected. The procedure is very safe and offers excellent results, however, sometimes there may be a little palpebral retraction or double vision. In this case, it can be corrected in a second intervention.
Can it be prevented?
Regrettably thyroid orbitopathy cannot be prevented.
However, attending an ophthalmological control check-up every year is key to obtaining an early diagnosis of the disease and achieving better control and monitoring of the disease, and thus prevent its progression and possible complications.
